Love at First Sight
by SSJ God SS Juuhachi
Summary: Based on the episode "New Kid on The Block" Bart is 14 years old now and starting his freshman year of High School. It is not long before has trouble fitting in. Soon after, Ruth Powers and her teenage daughter Laura move in next door to the Simpsons and Bart is immediately lovestruck and is determined to win Laura's affections. Bart/Laura Pairing! Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1: First Day of School

Disclaimer: I do not own The Simpsons, they are the property of Matt Groening, Sam Simon, James L. Brookes and 20th Century Fox.

 _A/N: Hello, everyone! This is my first ever Simpsons fan fiction and it is based on one of my all-time favorite Simpsons episodes, "New Kid on the Block" In this story, Bart is 14 years old, (same age as Laura Powers) and is starting his freshman year of High School. Right away, he doesn't fit in and has a difficult time adjusting to things. He is the subject of ridicule not just by bullies, the teachers, and Principal Dondelinger, who dislikes the boy just for being Homer's son. Just when it seems like things will never get better, the Simpsons get new neighbors. Ruth Powers and her teenage daughter Laura. Bart becomes immediately smitten with Laura, determined to win her heart._

Love at First Sight

Written by: SSJ God SS Juuhachi

Chapter 1: First Day of School

The sun began to rise over the horizon, casting its warm glow over Evergreen Terrace, slowly waking up its residents. It soon made its way to 742 Evergreen Terrace and through the master bedroom. Marge Simpson was the first one to stir and cracked open her eyes. She sat up, yawned and stretched before then throwing the covers off of herself and left the bedroom and walked through the hallway and down the stairs to make breakfast.

When Marge got to the kitchen, she glanced at the clock and saw it was ten minutes until 7 A.M. She began brewing some coffee before starting on making breakfast. She got into the cabinet and pulled down a box of pancake mix and a bowl. The blue-haired woman then moved to the fridge and got out the milk and eggs and mixed the contents together in the bowl before then adding the pancake batter to the skillet and turning on the stove so they could cook.

As that was going on, she got down three plates, glasses and silverware and placed them on the table. Afterward, she poured some orange juice and put a bottle of maple syrup down on the table. The table now set, she walked back over to the stove and flipped the pancakes.

Just then her daughters Lisa and Maggie walked into the room. Lisa, now 12 years old, had changed a lot in the last 4 years. The first thing one would notice was that she had grown taller. She was still a few inches shorter than her mother, but of course, she was still growing. Perhaps by the time she was an adult, she and Marge would be the same height.

Her usual starfish styled spiky hair had grown out a bit and had a bit of a wavy appearance now. Lisa wore a pair of pearl earrings which matched with the pearl necklace she had worn since she was a small child. She had on a red tank top, a purple skirt and a pair of pink boots.

Maggie, now 5 was the spitting image of what Lisa had looked like her younger years. She wore a pink shirt with a pair of blue overalls and purple sneakers. "Good morning, Lisa, Maggie." Marge greeted her daughters

"Good morning, Mom", Lisa greeted with a smile, "Good Morning, Mama," Maggie said thereafter, the girls then took a seat at the table.

"Where is your brother?" Marge then asked

Lisa shrugged

"I don't know," She replied, "Probably still sleeping, knowing him." Marge looked up at the clock and saw it was 7 AM and murmured. "All right," She said, "Lisa, can you do me a favor and take those pancakes off and put some more pancake batter in the skillet? I am going to wake up Bart."

"Sure," Lisa said, watching as Marge then left the room. Once she was gone, the middle-child got up from her place at the table and got the cooked pancakes off the stove and carried them over to the table, before adding more pancake batter to the skillet.

Marge soon reached the top of the stairs and walked to her son's room. Once at the door she saw a sign with a Bart skull and crossbones with the words "Keep Out!" decorated on it. She gently knocked on his door, "Bart," She said, through the door "Bart, honey it's time to wake up." Marge then heard a groan through the door,

"All right, I'll be right down." With that, Marge went back downstairs to finish making breakfast.

Meanwhile, inside Bart's bedroom, the Krusty the Clown posters and memorabilia that once covered his walls, bookshelf, and nightstand were now gone. Replaced with posters of bands such as Green Day, The Killers, Disturbed, Korn, Linkin Park, Soundgarden, Imagine Dragons, Slipknot, Fall Out Boy and Skillet. Also, on another wall, there is a poster of Michael Jackson.

His floor was barely visible under the many clothes, magazines, among other things that littered it. Meanwhile, in the bed, Bart's form was hidden underneath the covers, he shifted and groaned softly.

He popped his head out from underneath the covers and tiredly looked at the digital clock sitting beside his bed on his nightstand and saw it was 7:01 AM. He threw the covers off himself and stood up, stretching and yawning as he went.

Bart, now 14 years old, stood there in a pair of boxer shorts. His physical appearance had changed. He had grown much taller, the spikes no longer were neatly trimmed but had grown out a bit and were now styled in a spiky pompadour.

Also, he had lost all his baby fat and no longer sported the fat belly he once had as a kid and was now lean and muscular. His voice had grown deeper as well.

He stepped out of his room, grabbed a towel and washcloth and stepped into the shower. A few minutes later, he stepped out the shower, dried off, wrapped the towel around his waist before stepping over to the sink, brushed his teeth and combed his hair. Once finished, he walked back to his bedroom, put on some deodorant, put on a fresh pair of boxer shorts before getting dressed for school.

Bart walked over to his closet and quickly pulled out an outfit to wear and put it on. He had on a blue t-shirt with an orange short-sleeved button-down shirt on top of it, a pair of blue jeans. He then grabbed a pair of socks and put them on, before finally pulling on a pair of red and black sneakers. Now dressed, he looked at the clock it was now 7:10. He quickly grabbed his MyPhone, stuck it in his pocket and walked out of his bedroom and hopped up on the railing and slid down it like he had done so many times in the past.

Afterward, he walked into the kitchen where he was found his father and sisters sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast and his mother standing at the stove. "Good morning, family." He said

"Morning boy," Homer said, his eyes never leaving his newspaper. "Morning, Bart." Lisa and Maggie greeted him in unison.

"Good morning, sweetie. Breakfast is ready." She said, smiling at him as she put his plate of pancakes on the table. "Thanks, Mom." He smiled in return as he sat down at the table. Bart applied some maple syrup on his pancakes before he began to cut into them. Marge then sat down beside her son, "Bart, Lisa, Maggie, are you excited about starting school today?"

"Yeah!" Maggie exclaimed with a mouthful of pancakes.

"You know I am!" Lisa said, with a smile

"What is there to be excited about it? I am just trading one crappy school for another one." Bart said, keeping his eyes focused on the food in front of him. "It's not the schools that are crappy, Bart. It's just that you are a crappy student." Lisa then told him, making the spiky-haired teen glare at her "Shut up, Lisa, no one asked you for your opinion." Bart sneered, before turning back to his breakfast for a moment, "I'm not hungry anymore." He said, shoving the plate away from himself "Let's go," Bart grabbed his book bag and stood up from his seat and walked out of the kitchen. Marge murmured and followed him with Lisa and Maggie close in tow.

Once outside, Marge and the kids got into the car. Marge started up the engine, put the car in reverse and pulled out the driveway and was soon on road, heading to school.

As she drove down the road, she glanced at her children. Bart was sitting beside her in the passenger seat, looking out the window, while Lisa and Maggie were in the backseat keeping their eyes forward. The mother of three was amazed at how much her children had grown over these last few years. Bart and Lisa were practically adults now and in a few years would be off on their own. Maggie still had a lot of growing to do, but one day she too would become an adult and leave the nest, as children often do. It broke her heart to think one day her children would leave her, but that's why she had to make the most of the time she had with them now.

They soon pulled up in front of Springfield Elementary School. The sight brought back a lot of memories for Bart and Lisa as they gazed upon the building. Marge got walked around back out of the car and got Maggie out. "Bart, Lisa, I will be back in a few minutes. I am just going to walk your sister inside."

"Okay," Lisa said, followed up with Bart saying, "Sure,"

Marge took hold of Maggie's hand and the two walked inside, they moved down the hallway until they reached the first-grade classroom. They opened the door and walked into the classroom. In it, there was a group of children were talking and laughing with one another. Just then a young woman in her early thirties with reddish-brown hair and glasses approached mother and daughter. "Hello," The woman greeted politely, "I am Ms. Triplett, you must be Mrs. Simpson,"

"Yes, I am," Marge began," and this is my daughter Maggie," She then said, looking over to her daughter "Hi, Maggie." Ms. Triplett smiled, turning her attention to the young girl, "It's nice to meet you,"

"Nice to meet you too," Maggie responded, smiling in return

"Honey," Marge began, crouching down to Maggie's level, "Honey, look at me," The girl then turned to her mother, "I have to go now and take your brother and sister to school, but I will be back later at 3:00 o'clock to come and pick you up."

"Okay, Mommy."

"Give me a hug." Mother and daughter wrapped their arms around each other, "I love you, Maggie," Marge said softly, "I love you too," The toddler responded, afterward the two separated and Marge stood back up again. "Bye, sweetie." She said, waving as she went to leave the classroom. "Bye!" Marge then closed the door behind her and a few moments later she was back outside, finding her teenage children becoming anxious from waiting "Come on, Mom, let's go!" Both Bart and Lisa shouted at her as she approached the car.

She murmured as she got back into her vehicle, started the car back up and they were soon on their way again.

They soon reached Springfield Junior High School and pulled up in front of the building. "See you later, Mom," Lisa said, as she then got out of the car and walked up to a group of children who were waiting for the bell ring. "Have a good day, sweetheart!" Marge called back, making Lisa blush beet red in embarrassment as the other kids around her giggled and laughed.

She could hear Bart also laughing hysterically from his spot in the car she wished she could anywhere but where she was now. It was only her first day of the 7th grade and school hadn't started yet, but already she knew that today was not going to go well thanks to her mother.

Marge looked at the time and saw it was now 7:20. There were just ten minutes to get Bart to school. She hit the gas pedal and flew down the road, reaching Springfield High School in record time.

"Thanks, Mom," Bart said, grabbing his book bag and he as he went to get out of the car Marge then spoke up, "Bart, wait, can I talk to you for a moment?" The teen looked at her for a moment, "Mom, I don't have time, school is going to start soon." He protested, "Please," She started, "This won't take long," She assured him, making him sigh "All right, go ahead,"

"I know you have a history of being rebellious in past schools, but the rules are different here. If you pull the stunts you did back then, you won't get detention you will get suspended or worse, expelled. So please, please don't get in any trouble here." She pleaded as Bart stared at her.

"I will try." He said, making her smile "Oh, that's my special little guy." Marge leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Bart exclaimed in disgust "Have a good day, sweetheart." The teenage boy then opened the door and stepped out of the car. As his mother drove away, he wiped away the kiss from his cheek. Bart looked at his watch and saw it was 7:25. Just five minutes now until school started.

"Bart!" He heard his name being called and turned his head to see who it was and found his best friend Milhouse Van Houten standing nearby. Milhouse had changed, much like himself a great deal over the years. His voice had changed and was now much deeper, he cut his hair where it was longer on top and shorter on the sides, he too had become leaner and muscular and was now much taller, he wore a black and white Raglan t-shirt, brown cargo pants and a pair of blue and white converse sneakers. The only thing about him that had remained the same was the red framed glasses he had worn since they were small children.

"Milhouse!" Bart said, happy to see his old friend, the two boys bro-hugged "How have you been, man? I haven't seen you this summer." The spiky-haired teen asked they separated. "Yeah, my dad got me a summer job at his work," Milhouse sighed, "I didn't want to do it but he insisted that because I wasn't a kid anymore and I needed to learn about responsibility and what it means to work." He explained

"That sucks." The other boy responded

"Tell me about it, I had to spend the entire summer learning about crackers," Milhouse complained, "I'm 14 years old, what do I care about how crackers are made? All I wanted to do was hang out with you, go to the movies, skateboard, maybe meet some girls."

"I hear you, bro, that's rough." Bart nodded his head in understanding. Just then the bell rang, signaling it was time to go inside. "Maybe you and I can do something this weekend since we haven't seen each other all summer," Bart said, as he and Milhouse started to head inside.

"That sounds good," Milhouse smiled, "We can work out the details later this week over the phone."

"It's a plan, dude," Bart said, the two boys fist bumped before reaching the steps of Springfield High School. They looked up at the building for a moment taking in the vastness of the brick building and its enormous pillars. Afterward, they made their way up the steps and opened the double metal doors and walked inside. Hearing the doors slam behind them, Bart and Milhouse observed their surroundings and saw the main office. "Come on, let's go get our schedules," Bart instructed, walking towards the area with Milhouse close in two behind him.

When they walked inside they saw an elderly woman sitting behind the desk, probably around her fifties, her hair was gray with bits of white in it and was in a tight bun and wore glasses. On her nameplate, it read Doris Grabble."Can I help you?" She asked with a raspy voice, "Yes, we are here to pick our schedules."

"Name?" She asked and Milhouse was the first one to step forward "Milhouse Van Houten." He said, and she began typing away rapidly on the keyboard "Van Houten, Van Houten..." She muttered when his name popped up "Ah, here you are. Let me print this out for you." Doris began typing again before the printer began making noises. She tore the paper off the printer and handed it to him. "Here you go, honey."

"Thank you," He said to her as he stepped away from the desk

Now it was Bart's turn.

Just then the door to the Principal's door opened a man around his 60's stepped out of his was heavy-set, baldly and wore a stern look on his face. "Doris, when you get a chance, I need you to fax some papers," He said, handing her a couple of papers. She looked over them a moment before responding, "Sure thing,"

"Thank you." He then walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. Doris set the papers aside and turned her focus back on Bart who was still standing in the same place he was a moment ago.

"What's your name, cutie?"

"Bart Simpson." He answered her, moving closer to the desk. This got the Dondelinger's attention as he then turned into Bart's direction with a raised eyebrow.

Doris began typing once more before pulling up his name. "I see you now, all right just let me print this schedule out for you." Like before, she typed a couple more times before the printer began to sound once more and began to spit out the paper. She tore it off and gave it to him. "There you are," She smiled

"Thank you very much." The two boys began to walk towards the door "Have a good day," She said, before returning to her work. Bart and Milhouse then walked out of the office. When they were gone, Dondelinger looked over at the elderly woman and said, "Doris, do me a favor," He began "That Bart Simpson that was just left, can you pull up files on him?"

"Of course, what kind of files do you want?" She asked, turning towards him "Everything! I want all the documented files on this Simpson boy on my desk by lunchtime." He said, walking back towards his office "Yes sir." She said, quietly as he then slammed his door. Doris turned her focus to the computer and began typing away in trying to find the files.

 _A/N: Well guys that is it for Chapter 1! It felt like a good place to stop. I am working out an outline for Chapter 2 so that will be up as soon as possible. Hope you all enjoyed this and don't forget to read and review and I will see you guys later! Take care!_


	2. Chapter 2: Jason, Kyle and Devon

Disclaimer: I do not own the Simpsons, the story and the characters, they are the property of Matt Groening, James Brooks, Sam Simon and 20th Century Fox

 _A/N: Hi everyone! Before we get started with this new Chapter I want to give a big thanks for all the kind reviews, it really means a lot. In this chapter, Bart will meet three new bullies. Their names are Jason, Kyle, and Devon, their the High School versions of Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney. Hope you all enjoy this new chapter and don't forget to read and review at the end._

Love at First Sight

Written By: SSJ God SS Juuhachi

Chapter 2: Jason, Kyle, and Devon

Sounds of overlapping conversation and lockers slamming filled the air as Bart and Milhouse stood at the lockers assigned to them. They were only a few lockers away from one another which had never happened before when in Elementary School and Middle School their lockers were on opposite ends of the school. Bart stuffed his book bag inside and afterward, began taking out notebooks, folders, pencils out for his first period. However, first, he had to go to homeroom.

"You ready, Milhouse?" Bart asked, closing his locker "Yeah, I'm ready, let's go." The other boy responded, shutting his locker as well. "We need to get to homeroom." Bart then said as the two boys began making their way through the crowded corridor, trying their best not to bump into anyone. They soon reached their destination and walked inside.

Once inside, they found there a lot of the seats were already taken and there weren't much left to choose from. Milhouse took a desk towards the back of the classroom while Bart took one in the center of the classroom. A few moments later a middle-aged woman with dark-haired entered the room. "Hello, my name is Ms. Kramer." She said, writing her name on the chalkboard in cursive letters. "and welcome to homeroom." She said, turning towards the class. "Besides being a homeroom teacher, some of you I will have for History."

"Just to give you a little information about myself, I have been at Springfield High School for around 30 years now. I taught your parents when they were students here at school. I have dealt with them all: The goof-offs, the pranksters, and troublemakers so if you fall into any of these categories a fair warning now: If you try any funny business, smart off to me, or cause any trouble in my class will buy a ticket to the principal's office." She explained, "so if you keep your nose clean and do what you're told, then we won't have a problem, you understand me?"

"Yes, Ma'me," The class murmured, nodding their head.

Bart looked over his shoulder at Milhouse who looked a little scared at the teacher's words. Bart laughed quietly, at his friend's expression before turning his attention back to the front of the classroom. Ms. Kramer noticed this and asked, "Something funny?" The smile faded immediately from Bart's face and he shook his head

"No." He answered,

"Good." She then said, in a serious tone. "Now, we have a couple of minutes until first-period so I have a few rules I need to discuss with you all," She began as she continued to talk, Bart began to space out and soon he could no longer hear her voice as the stress of the situation began to set in. He placed his hands over his hands cover his face for a moment.

He knew that High School would be different from both Elementary School and Junior High but not this much. He allowed his hands slide down his face and drop back down on his desk as he silently wondered how he was going to survive four years in this place. "God, help me." He whispered quietly to himself, turning his focus back on the front of the classroom.

* * *

Homer walked into the break room of the Nuclear Power Plant where he found he found a packed break room, he looked around the room to find everyone talking to each other in hushed voices. Confused, he went to look for Lenny and Carl and found them by the break table, eating donuts and drinking coffee and approached them. "Hey, guys," Homer said, "What's going on?" He asked, looking at the group of people again.

"Mr. Burns is going to make some big announcement over the intercom this morning," Carl said, before then adding, "and everyone is just concerned about what it might be."

"He's probably planning to make some cutbacks in employee's, or decrease our salary." Lenny speculated, with an annoyed look on his face before taking a sip of his coffee. "What's makes you so sure it is going to be bad news?" Homer asked, "Come on, Homer this is Mr. Burns we are talking about here. Whenever have you known Mr. Burns to make an announcement and it was good news?"

"Last year when I got that Employee of the Month Award," Homer answered, making the two men look at each other. "Besides, that," Carl said, "Whenever have you ever known for Mr. Burns to give good news?"

"Umm," Homer said, becoming silent for a few moments, "Never?"

"Exactly! Whenever Mr. Burns gives an announcement it means bad news for the rest of us." Just then there was voice that came on over the intercom "Good morning, Nuclear family," It was Mr. Burns "I have a very important announcement for you all," He began "The Springfield Power Plant is due for another inspection coming up in a month, and we need everything in tip-top order before then so, until that time, you will all be working mandatory overtime at no additional pay." All the employees in the break room groaned in response, "See, what did I tell you? Always bad news..."

"Dammit," Homer cursed, feeling frustrated now. "I guess I better call Marge and let her know-"

"Call her later, Homer when you get your lunch break," Carl said, "We got to get to work now," He and Lenny then walked out the door, as did the other employees. Homer soon followed, feeling now really depressed for the work day to come.

* * *

Marge turned off the vacuüm cleaner and sighed, "Whew!" She said, wiping the sweat from her brow. She had worked for nearly an hour and a half now cleaning. She unplugged the cord and wrapped it back up before setting it aside and moving on to dusting the bookshelf. Marge soon came across the family photo album and stopped to pull it out. The blue-haired woman carried it to the couch and sat down, placing the album on her lap and opened it. The first photos she saw was she and her Homer in their childhood, followed by their teenage years up to when they went to the Prom, not together of course.

She flipped the page and there were some photos of them when they were dating, which she couldn't help but smile as she looked at them. When she turned to the third page, it was then she saw the photos when she was pregnant with Bart, including her and Homer's wedding. As she continued to look through the album, seeing the photos of Bart, Lisa and Maggie growing up, it made her a bit teary eyed. Her children had always needed her for one thing or another and while it grew tiring on occasions, she enjoyed doing things for them.

Though over the last few years that did not seem to happen as often anymore, with Bart and Lisa at least, they did not seem to want to be seen with her, much less hang out with her. It was like they were embarrassed by her, and would rather hang out with their friends than be with her. Which she could understand to a certain degree, all kids, when they get older, don't want to be seen in public with their parents, but still, she could not help but feel hurt by their behavior towards her.

Now Maggie, who had just started the first grade, she had no one any longer to keep her company. Sure she had always had other things to occupy her time, such as cleaning, doing laundry etc. but when she needed a break from that Maggie was the only thing that kept sane in those moments. Even in her infant years, when she couldn't talk, just hearing her giggle and laugh when she would play with her had brought her so much joy. However, those days having her around during the day were over and she had to adjust to a life of being on her own.

Marge closed the photo album, got up from the couch and put it back on the shelf before she resumed her cleaning, trying her best to get her mind off of matters.

* * *

T he bell rang, signaling the end of first-period, Lisa walked out of math class with a sullen look on her face. She walked to her locker and opened it as she began to get what she would need for her next class, her mind began to drift back to a few moments ago in class.

 _The teacher, Mr. Parker, a man in his mid to late 30s with salt and pepper hair stood writing on the chalkboard. When he took a step back, it revealed many multiplication tables ranging from basic to hard. "All right, class, can anyone solve these problems?" Naturally, she had raised her hand up in the air. "You there, what's your name?" He asked, with a smile "Lisa Simpson." She said, smiling back_

 _"Lisa, you think you can solve these problems?"_

 _She nodded her head in response, "Yes, I do." The blonde-haired girl answered_

 _"All right, come up here," Lisa rose up from her desk and walked up to the chalkboard, Mr. Parker gave the piece of chalk in his hand to her, and she began examining the problems. She breezed through the basic multiplications such as 8 x 10 was 80 and 5 x 20 was 100 etc. though when it got to the harder problems she had to stop and think for a moment, problems such as 50 x 50 and 40 x 65 but she solved them the same as the others. '_

 _When she was finished, she turned to Mr. Parker, "Is that correct?" After taking a moment to check her answers, he then looked back at her "Yes, they are all correct, good job Lisa!" He said, impressed by her knowledge and began to clap._

 _"Go on and take your seat," He told her, Lisa then did as she was asked, feeling good about impressing her teacher, especially on her first day at a new school. Though on her trip back to her desk she was met with laughter and ridicule. They called her names such as "Teacher's Pet", "Nerd" and "Geek". After she took a seat, they began throwing paper pads at her, hitting her in both in the head and in the back. Never in her life had she ever felt more relieved to hear the bell ring then she did at that moment._

Lisa then came out of her thoughts, "I guess I'll never be normal," She whispered softly to herself

For as long as she could remember she had always been gifted when she and Bart were young, there might have been a two-year difference between them, but she was far ahead of him in everything. She learned to read, write and could draw faster than him at age 2 than he was at age 4. By the time she started school, intellectually she was way above the other children her age and she, of course, liked he flaunt it.

While at times this proved beneficial, and the teachers were impressed at the beginning with her knowledge, as the years wore on they got tired of it and she had become known as an insufferable know-it-all, a nerd, geek and teacher's pet and no one wanted to be friends with her because of it.

Now here she was, years later in exactly the same place as before, reliving it all over again. She thought this year she could make a fresh start and finally make some friends, but that won't happen now.

"then again, I have never been normal." She closed her locker and began walking down the hall. It was barely 9 o'clock and already she was reading to go home due to the hellish day she had, unfortunately though, she could not leave, and continued on her way to her second period and hoped it would be a better experience than the first period had been for her.

* * *

Bart yawned, feeling bored and leaned back in his seat as he listened to his teacher, who stood in front of the class reading a book out loud to everyone, giving them each a book to follow along with. If there was one thing he was not a big fan of it was books. Lisa had tried to get him to read a few books when they were younger, but none had interested him because most of them were poems or novels.

He had tried to read one once, just because she asked him, to the name of the book was "Romeo and Juliet" the book was all right, but he was not impressed with it, maybe it was a tragic romance and that really wasn't his thing.

However, when he had gotten expelled from Junior High School just this past year, his mother had homeschooled him and had him read "Catcher in the Rye" after she explained what the book was about it, it intrigued him and he read it. To this day, it remains the only novel he has ever read and really liked.

"God, when is this class is going to be over?" He whined quietly to himself, he began staring out the window at the trees and nature and became lost in it for a moment before, snapping out of his thoughts again he heard the teacher speak his name, "Bart Simpson, are you paying attention?"

"Yes, of course!" He said, putting on his best smile. "Excuse me, but can I use the bathroom?" The boy then asked,

"It is "May I use the bathroom?" and yes, you may but don't take too long. After we are done reading here, we are going to review what happened in it." The teacher explained, handing him a hall pass. "Of course, be right back!" He said, suddenly feeling nervous. Once he was out of the room he began to make his way to the bathroom.

When he walked inside, he heard voices coming from around the corner. Bart did not want to make himself known just yet and decided to listen to the conversation, currently happening. He peeked carefully, around the corner and saw three boys. The tallest of the three boys appeared also to be the leader. He had long dark hair and dark eyes with a mullet hairstyle, he wore a navy blue t-shirt, black fingerless motorcycle gloves, black jeans, and brown boots. He looked to be maybe a Sophmore.

He then pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth, "Damn, Dongelinger, giving us detention like that." He cursed bitterly, pulling out a lighter and lit the cigarette up, taking a drag of the cigarette before expelling the smoke from his lips. The two other boys in the group appeared to be two or three years younger than the man in front of them. One of the boys had short blonde spiky hair, much like himself, except his hair color was more dishwater blonde and the spikes were much messier. His eyes were blue, he wore a sleeveless green hoodie, baggy blue jeans, and red and black and white sneakers.

"Well, it's your fault, Jason if you had set your alarm last night to wake you up, we wouldn't have been late." He then said, glaring at him, "What's the matter your alarm broke?" The boy, called Jason then said with a sneer, "Don't blame me, Kyle, just because you can't get up on time. You and Devon both have an alarm of your own, why don't you try using it sometime and set it to wake you up in the morning. I'm not your keeper" He said, turning his back on the two boys.

The two boys stood there clearly annoyed at the other boy's attitude towards them and looked at each other. Before turning back to the man, who still has his back turned to them "Actually you are our keeper," Devon said, speaking for the first time since Bart walked in the room. "Mom tells you all the time it is your responsibility to wake us up and drive us to school." He explained, making Jason turn to him.

It was clear Devon was the runt of the group is a bit shorter than the other boys. His hair is brown, it is short in the front with an obvious rat tail in the back. He wore a purple t-shirt with, blue jeans and white sneakers.

"Did she now?" Jason then asked, "Well, she's wrong. You're both 14, you're old enough to set your own alarm, wake up and get yourself to school without -" He stopped mid-sentence when they heard a muffled sneeze. Bart, still hidden behind the corner, _"Shit! Please God, don't let them have heard that!"_ He thought, his prayers though went unanswered as she heard Jason then said, "Who is there? Whoever you are come out!" He demanded roughly

Bart's heart began to thump rapidly as the panic began to rise in his chest, making him short of breath. "Now what do I do?" He asked himself quietly "I said COME OUT NOW!" Jason hollered, his voice echoing loudly as it reverberated off the walls. Bart took a deep breath to calm himself before walking out from behind the corner, revealing himself to the three boys.

"Who are you?" Jason demanded

"I'm Bart Simpson, who the hell are you?" He asked with a smile, trying to act causal

"My name is Jason Dooley, behind me are my twin brothers Kyle and Devon." The dark-haired man said, gesturing to the two boys behind him. "Their twins? But they don't look anything like." Bart asked confused, looking at the two other boys

"We're fraternal twins, you're thinking of identical twins," Kyle said, glaring at him

"Yeah, you're going to have to give me more than that, because I still don't get it," Bart said, a matter of factly

"Who cares all right? It's not important!" Jason snarled, grabbing Bart's attention again "Just tell us why were you listening to our conversation?" He asked, glaring down at Bart who now was standing in front of them. "I wasn't listening-" Bart began, before being interrupted "Then why were you hiding around that corner?" Bart's eyes began to shift back and forth frantically as he tried to come with a plausible lie but could think of nothing.

"That's what I thought," Jason said, before grabbing the spiky-haired teen by the collar of his shirt, lifting him up slightly. "What grade are you?" He then asked, "Freshman. Today is my first day here." Bart said, there was a brief silence in the room before he then went on to say, "Please put me down," He pleaded, "I'm sorry that I eavesdropped on your conversation, I just came in here because I had to use the bathroom."

"Did you now? Well, why didn't you say so?" Jason lowered Bart back down to his feet "Here you go," He said, gently guiding him to one of the stalls. "Thanks," Bart said, uncertain what was happening and walked inside, afterward he unzipped his pants and began peeing.

As he did, he could hear Jason and his brothers whispering and laughing, he wondered silently what they were up to and waited for water or something to be dumped on him. A moment or two later, when nothing happened, he zipped himself back up and went to get out of the stall, but found he couldn't.

"What the hell?" He tried, again, the door would not move. "I can't get out!" He then heard the howling laughter of Jason and his brothers as he struggled to get the door open."Why won't this door open?" He asked as he began pushing on the door before he became frustrated and began beating his fists against it.

"Welcome to High School, Bart Simpson," Jason said proudly, "Next time learn to mind your own business," They once again began laughing. Once they were finished "Come on, let's go." Bart heard one of them say and listened as they walked away.

"Hey, don't leave me here! Let me out of here!" He pleaded, when he no longer heard them anymore he called out, "Hello? Is anyone out there?" He asked, but received no answer "Hello?" Once again, no response came.

It was then he realized he was completely alone. "Damn it!" He then cursed as he tried once more to get the door open but his efforts were in vain. He soon gave up and stood there, looking for another way out, quietly asking himself.

"Now what do I do?"

 _A/N: Well, that's it for Chapter 2! I will start writing Chapter 3 soon, so stay tuned for that. I hope you all enjoyed this, don't forget to read and review and I will see you guys later! Take care!_


	3. Chapter 3: An Unjust Punishment

Disclaimer: I do not own the Simpsons, the story and the characters, they are the property of Matt Groening, James Brooks, Sam Simon and 20th Century Fox

 _A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you to everyone who has supported my fanfic so far with reviewing and is following my story, it really means a lot! I apologize for the delay on posting this chapter, I have been rather busy lately. In this chapter, Bart gets in trouble for not returning to class and has to go and see Dondelinger, things don't go well with that, causing the teenager to get detention on his first day of school, this displeases Marge and she has to go to the school to handle the matter. Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to read and review!_

Love at First Sight

Written by: SSJ God SS Juuhachi

Chapter 3: An Unjust Punishment

Tick Tock Tick Tok

Milhouse looked at the clock and saw it was now 9:15. Bart had been gone for 15 minutes now and he was beginning to get worried about him. Though part of him thought he may have skipped class, the other half knew that Bart would not do that, at least not on the first day. Something was wrong and he knew it. Milhouse turned his focus to the front of the class where he saw Ms. Haynes had an annoyed look on her face as she looked at the clock.

"Well, I guess Mr. Simpson decided not to come back to class, so I guess we will continue without him," She said, closing her book and setting it down beside her. "All right, class let's go over what we just read..."

Bart stood in the stall, trying to figure out a way to get out of it. "All right, think Bart, think," He said to himself, rubbing his temples. "You have survived wet willies, wedgies, and swirlies, if you can get through that surely you can figure out of this." He looked around the small courters once more. He was too big to simply slip under the stall, and he knew couldn't simply just climb up over the door, he already tried a number of times already.

Just then he heard the bell ring, making him cringe at the sound

"Dammit, class is over." He cursed softly, knowing he was going to be in trouble once he got out there. He waited a few moments when he heard multiple footsteps approaching "Bart? Bart are you in here?" He heard a familiar voice speak to him, "Milhouse? I'm here, I'm here!" He said, frantically, "Get me out of this stall!" There was brief silence when Bart heard the sound of a lock click and the door opened.

"Thanks, man, I owe you one," Bart said as he walked out of the stall

"Don't worry about it," Milhouse said, "How did you get locked in here?"

"Bullies did it, while I was using the bathroom," Bart grumbled, straightening out his clothes and fixing his hair. "Bullies, really? What did they look like?"

"What difference does that make what they looked like?" Bart asked, looking at his friend with an irritated look "Just wondering is all..."

"Well, it doesn't matter, okay?" Bart told him, and Milhouse nodded "Come on, let's get out of here." The two boys then exited the bathroom where they walked into a crowded hallway "I got to get my stuff out of Ms. Haynes class," Bart said, "Do you want me to go with you?" Milhouse asked, "No, that's okay this should only take a minute," He assured his friend, "Go on to your next class and I'll see you later,"

"Okay, see you later, Bart." Milhouse then departed and Bart walked back to his second period. He peered in the door where he saw Ms. Haynes erasing stuff off the chalkboard. "Well, hello Mr. Simpson so nice to see you again," She said sarcastically "too bad, my class is already over." She said as he walked over to grab his belongings. After he had them gathered, he walked back over to her, "Look, Ms. Haynes," He began, "I know this looks bad, but I swear it was not my fault-" He tried to explain when she held up a hand "Save it for the Principal's office, Mr. Simpson."

"What?" He asked, eyes wide

"You heard me," She said, firmly, "march yourself over to Mr. Dondelinger's office, right now." Bart narrowed his eyes at her for a moment "Fine," He said, biting back his anger "Here your hall pass back," He said, giving her the thin piece of wood back. Afterward, he slung his book bag over his shoulder and walked out of the room, complaining under his breath as he went. Bart made his way through the crowd of students, heading to their classes. He soon heard the bell ring again, and he was once again in the hallway alone, though he kept walking until he reached the main office.

He entered and saw the same elderly woman he had met before when came to pick up his schedule and walked up to her desk "Excuse me Ms..." He trailed off a moment as he looked at her nameplate "Ms. Grabble, my name is Bart Simpson, we met earlier."

"Yes, I remember you," She replied, "What can I do for you?"

"I am here to see Principal Dondelinger," He said with a sigh, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Gotcha," She said with a nod, before pressing the button on the intercom "Principal Dondelinger, Bart Simpson is here to see you." There was a brief silence before Dondelinger responded, "Send him in."

"Right away, sir." She told him, before releasing the button on the intercom. "He is right through that door there," Doris instructed, pointing at the door that read the words "Principal Dondelinger" in black bold letters on the door. "and good luck, you're going to need it." She told him, before going back to her work.

"Thanks," Bart said, walking toward the door. When he got to it, he paused briefly to sigh once more time before opening the door to find the same over-weight balding man he had seen earlier, he was going over paperwork. "Bart Simpson, come on in, have a seat." He told him, Bart hesitated for a moment but did as he was told and sat down, setting his book bag down beside him as he did so.

"I am Principal Dondelinger," The man introduced himself, "Tell me, what brings you to my office?" The older man asked, folding his hands in front of him on top of his desk.

"Ms. Haynes told me to come here." The teenager replied, arms folded over his chest

"Why was that?" Bart did not respond to the man's question instead he turned his head away and glared out the window. "Bart, why did Ms. Haynes send you to me?"

"Because she thought I skipped her class, which I didn't!" Bart said, irritated "A group of kids locked me in one of the stalls and I had to wait for someone to let me out, by the time this happened class was over. When I tried to explain myself to her she wouldn't even listen to me, and sent here to you."

"Is that the truth?"

"You calling me a liar?"

"Well, you do seem to have a habit of it,"

"What are you talking about?" Bart asked, his glare turned into a look of suspicion

"I have been looking over your files," Dondelinger said opening up a vanilla folder, "and you have quite the reputation, just being 14." He commented, scanning over the many papers "Where did you get that?" The boy asked, his anger returning "Over the last 10 years you have had a history back talking and lying to teachers, defacing school property, pulled a series of pranks on teachers and students, served many detentions in both Elementary and Junior High." Dondelinger casually went down the list, ignoring Bart's question. "Seems like you have problems with authority."

Bart rolled his eyes and sighed as he listened to Dondelinger continue to read his file, "It also says here, your parents are Homer and Marge Simpson."

"So what?"

"I hold your mother in high regard, she was a wonderful student here, got good grades and graduated with high honors," Dondelinger said, "Your father, however, was a slacker who got into constant trouble, and it was obvious he would never amount to anything." The old man sneered, "It is clear now that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, like father like son as they say,"

"Okay, we're done here," Bart said, getting up, "I told you what happened, clearly you don't believe me so I'm going to be on my way." The teenager said, heading towards the door

"Not so fast," Dondelinger stopped him, making him turn to the older man "You just bought yourself one day of detention, report to the old building at room 306 at 3:00 o'clock."

"Detention?! But I didn't do anything!" Bart said, outraged over the unjust punishment.

"So you say," The Principal said, dismissively "but there was no one else with you in the room that can verify your story, can they?"

No answer

"That's what I thought," Dondelinger said smugly, "so it's just your word against theirs," He told him, "Now get out of here! I've got work to do!" Bart glared hatefully at the man before grabbing his book bag once more and walking out of his office, slamming the door as hard as he could behind him, startling Ms. Grabble as he did. He walked up to her "Just so I don't get in trouble again and get sent back here, do you mind writing me a note telling my third-period teacher, where I was."

"No, its no problem," Ms. Grabble said, pulling out a piece of paper, scribbling down something fast before folding it over and handing it to him.

"Here you go,"

"Thanks, I appreciate it." He said, "My life can't get much worse can it?"

"Oh, honey, the first day is always the hardest for new students, don't worry things will get better," Doris assured him.

"Yeah, well, I hope so," He said to her, "because if this is the best it's ever going to be, I'm already dreading the next 3 years." Bart put his book bag on his shoulder once more, "Thanks again for everything, see you later." The teenage boy then walked out of the main office, once out in the hallway again he let out a sigh. "My first day here and already got detention, this got to be a new record." He said to himself, before heading off to salvage what was left of his third before class.

* * *

Homer sat leaned back in his chair, feet up on the console and hands behind his head, snoring softly. The phone then began ringing, startling him out of his slumber. Alarmed, he looked frantically around for the source of the noise before his eyes landed on the phone and picked it up "Hello?" He asked, tiredly

"Hello, Homer," A raspy voice spoke on the other end,

"Hey, Marge, what's up?" Homer asked, smiling a bit at hearing his wife's voice

"Nothing much," She answered, "Just thought I would check how things were going at work."

"Honestly, Marge, it sucks right now."

"Why?" She asked

"Mr. Burns made an announcement this morning, the Power Planet is due for another inspection in a month so until then all employees are put on mandatory overtime, at no additional pay," Homer said, clearly depressed about it. "Oh, Homie I am so sorry," Marge said sympathetically, "What can I do?"

"Just keep my dinner in the microwave for me and I'll warm it up when I get home."

"Okay, Homer." She said, a worried look on her face. Just then she heard an alarm blaring in the background "I have to go, Marge. I'll call you later." Marge then heard the click of him hanging up on the other end, followed by a dial tone. "Bye, Homie." She said, before hanging up the phone too. As soon as she did the telephone began to ring, she picked it up and put the receiver to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mrs. Simpson?"

"Yes," Marge answered, "Who is this?"

"This is Principal Dondelinger, I am calling in regards to your son Bartholomew,"

"Why? Did something happen?" She asked, worriedly

"Unfortunately, yes, Mrs. Simpsons it has," He told her, "Your son has received detention for skipping one of his classes."

"What? Well, that doesn't sound like Bart-" She began to protest, but was interrupted when Dondelinger then said "I'm afraid so, Mrs. Simpson you will need to pick him up at 3:10 after school."

"I'll be there, thank you Principal Dondelinger." With that, she hung up the phone and walked over to the table where she then sat down. Marge put her face in her hands. After all the warnings she had given him, her son had still had gotten into trouble, she was truly disappointed in her son. The blue-haired woman had hoped with age that Bart would have matured and learned to stay out of trouble when asked, but clearly, he couldn't do that, that would be too much to hope for.

* * *

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day and Bart walked to the old building and down the hall, looking over the class numbers till he saw "306" and opened the door there sat a male teacher behind the desk, reading a book.

His eyes then turned the other students in the room and found three familiar faces, now looking at him. Jason, Kyle, and Devon. "Well, they did say this morning that they had detention so it makes sense why they are here," Bart thought to himself

They sat a few seats towards the back. He glared at them as he then found a seat up front, "Well, well look who is here," Jason taunted with a smug grin, "What are you doing here, slick?" Bart simply ignored him and began doodling on the desk. "Hey, what are you deaf? I'm talking to you!" Jason said, now annoyed, throwing a paper wad at him and hitting him in the back of the head.

Bart continued to ignore him, he now had a Bart skull and crossbones on the desk, with the words "Bad to the Bone" written underneath it. "Mr. Dooley, be quiet!" The teacher said to him, an irritated look on his face.

There was a brief silence before Jason turned back to Bart again, "Let me guess, you got in trouble because of the little prank we pulled on you, didn't you?" Bart once more did not answer them but was clenched his jaw. He could feel his anger begin to boil from Jason's insistence to speak with him. "Come on, you can tell us..."

"Jason, leave him alone, he doesn't want to talk," Devon told him

"Do I look like I care?" Jason responded back, looking at him

"Mr. Dooley, this is your final warning, be quiet!" The teacher said, now becoming angry.

"Maybe you should," Kyle chimed in, in a hushed voice "You already got even with him for eavesdropping, now leave it alone." Jason looked at his brothers a moment, before looking at Bart and saw he was still facing forward. Unfazed, and not the least bit concerned about what was going on around him.

"Fine," Jason said, "I've got better things to do than to waste my time on a loser on like him anyway." He said, just loud enough for Bart to hear it and proceeded to throw another paper wad at him, once again it hit him in the back of the head, harder this time.

Bart could feel his anger seething now, as he fought to keep it under control as Jason began to throw more paper wads at him. Bart knew that Jason was just trying to get a rise out of him by provoking a reaction and just continued to ignore him, doodling on the desk once more.

A few minutes later, the door opened again. Bart and everyone else turned their head in the direction of the doorway and saw Marge standing there an annoyed look on her face. "I'm here to pick up my son, Bart." She said, "Hey, Mom." Bart greeted his mother as he rose from his seat, grabbing his book bag and slung it over his shoulder as he walked up to her. When he did, he noticed that she was glaring daggers at the three other boys in the room, who became shifty-eyed and nervous under her menacing stare.

"Mom?" Bart asked, getting her attention

"Let's go, your sisters are waiting in the car." She told him

"Okay," Bart said, walked out of the room, Marge glaring one last time at the three boys before closing the door behind her. Everything was quiet as the two began to walk down the hallway, Bart looked at his mother silently wondering what she was thinking at this moment. She was a few steps ahead of him so he was unable to see her expression but he was sure she was still annoyed.

Once they got outside and began heading towards the car, Bart decided to break the silence. "Mom?" He asked hesitantly, "Mom, can we talk about this?"

Marge did not answer

"Look, I know this looks bad, but I swear to you I did not do anything!" Bart now pleaded with her, which then made Marge stop in her tracks and turn to look at him. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because I am telling you the truth!" He told her, "Whatever Dondelinger told you was a lie! I didn't skip class!"

"What happened then? Why didn't you go back to class?"

"I couldn't go back to class because I got locked in one of the bathroom stalls and was unable to get out!" This caught Marge's attention and she looked at him with interest, "You got locked in one of the stalls? Who did that to you?"

"Those kids you saw sitting with me in Detention? It was them, they're the ones who did it."

"I see," Marge then said, before walking to her son and placing her hands on his shoulders. "Bart, I'm sorry I ever doubted you, don't worry, I'll come down here tomorrow and talk to Principal Dondelinger and set matters straight."

"Thanks, Mom." Bart smiled, making Marge smile in return

"You're welcome, let's go home," She said, ruffling his hair a bit before the two made their way to the car where Lisa and Maggie were waiting patiently. "Hi, Bart," Lisa and Maggie said, greeting their older brother. "Hey, Lise, Maggie." Bart greeted his sisters as he got in the car, mother and son then buckled their seatbelts "So how was your first day of High School, Bart?"

"It was rough," He said, "but tomorrow is a new day, and will hopefully be better for me." Lisa seemed satisfied with that answer because she did not press the subject, and afterward the Simpsons drove began their journey back home.

 _A/N: That is it for Chapter 3 I hope you all enjoyed it :) Once again, please forgive the delay in getting this Chapter out. I promise Chapter 4 won't take nearly as long to post. Hope you guys have a great day! Take care!_


	4. Chapter 4: Marge vs Dondelinger

Disclaimer: I do not own The Simpsons, the series, its characters are all the property of Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Sam Simon and 20th Century Fox.

 _A/N: This chapter took longer than I expected because it covers a lot of material. I look forward to reading what you guys think of this chapter, I worked hard on it, trying to make everything flow naturally. Hope I was successful and you guys enjoy reading this! Don't forget to read and review!_

Love at First Sight

Written by: SSJ God SS Juuhachi

Chapter 4: Marge vs. Dondelinger

Marge and the kids walked through the front door a few minutes later. "Bart, Lisa, Maggie if you have any homework, go ahead and get started on it. I'm going to go start making dinner," Marge told her children, "Okay, Mom," They replied in unison and walked upstairs to their rooms, the blue-haired woman walked into the kitchen and looked around the room of what to make for her family when she sighed. With the stressful day she had, she decided she was not in the mood to cook, and pulled out the phone book, flipped through it quickly before finding what she was looking for and picked up the phone.

Upstairs Bart was sitting at his desk, an open textbook in front of him as he took notes in his notebook when his mind began to drift to the incident earlier in the day with the boys he now knew as Jason, Kyle and Devon and what they did to him. He could still their laughter echo in his mind and Jason's mocking words, "Welcome to High School, Bart Simpson!" just thinking about it, made his blood boil, because of them he had gotten into trouble with that jerk Dondelinger who had already assumed he was guilty based on his record from the past and did not care to hear his side of the story at all.

Bart placed on a hand on his head as he fought to keep concentrated on his work when he heard a knock on the door. "Good away," He said, keeping his eyes focused on his work. The door then opened and Lisa stood in the doorway "Can I come in?"

"What do you want, Lisa?" Bart sighed, irritated

"Mom told me what happened to you today," She began, sitting down at the foot of his bed "I'm really sorry your first day of High School was really lousy," Her tone was sympathetic as she looked at him, unknown to him with a look of concern on her face, "I don't want to talk about it, okay? So let's talk about something else," Bart said in a tone, that told her to change the subject as quickly as possible. "Fine," Lisa replied, "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't have a good day either, and was made fun pretty heavily."

Bart paused briefly before turning to look at her,

"Go on," He said, making the hand gesture for her to continue

"I thought with entering a new school, it would be different, that I would be able to fit in and make some friends, but all I got instead of made fun of,"

"You know why that is, Lise?"

Lisa shook her head in response

"Because you're show-off Lisa," Bart said simply to her

"I am not!" Lisa protested, glaring at her brother

"Yes, you are," He told her, "Ever since we were kids you always loved to flaunt how smart you were to people, and for a time people were impressed by it and even respected it," Bart explained, "However, as the years went on people grew tired of your know-it-all behavior and grew resentful of this and your constant need to act superior, bolster your ego and make everyone else look dumb."

"I knew that my intelligence annoyed people sometimes but...I never knew that I was making others feel inferior to me," She said regretfully, a look of a sadness on her face. "That was never my intention at all," Bart could see the pain in her eyes and felt a pang of guilt at having hurt her the way he did, and got up from his seat and walked over to sit down next to her, wrapping his arm around her. "Lisa, I'm sorry," He apologized, " I did not mean to upset you, I just thought if you knew these things it would make you aware of it and improve your attitude. I never meant to hurt your feelings."

"It's all right, Bart that you were just to trying to help me because you love me," Lisa said, smiling softly at him before then hugging him. "Thank you," Bart's body tensed up a bit with his sister touching him, though after a few seconds he relaxed and hugged her back, smiling "Anytime, sis."

"And I will try to work on improving myself,"

"That's good, self-improvement is always important," The older Simpson child said, "worked for me," He then added, walking back over to sit down at his desk, returning to his homework. "That's true," Lisa agreed, getting up from her spot on the bed and walked to the door. "Bart, can I ask you something?"

"What?" He asked, looking up at her

"You used to be mischievous, pulling pranks all the time on people and getting into trouble," She began, "What made you stop? Why did you change from being Springfield's problem child, to who you are today?" Bart looked at her for a few moments before answering, "I don't know," He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess because I had to,"

"What do you mean?" She asked, a look of confusion on her face

"I mean from the time I was five years old till I was twelve I repeatedly got myself in trouble one way or another," Bart explained, "After doing that almost every day for seven years I had pretty much done every prank imaginable and found myself growing bored of it all. Not to mention the stress it was putting on our parents with me getting into trouble all the time, so when I turned thirteen I just decided to move on from that and try to be better."

"I understand," Lisa said, appearing satisfied by that answer "Thanks, Bart,"

"I'm always here for you, Lise, anytime you need to talk."Afterward, Lisa left the room and Bart focused back on his homework.

30 Minutes Later

"Kids, dinner is ready!" Marge called and soon after she heard the thunderous sound of her children rushing down the stairs. When they entered the kitchen, they found a box of pepperoni pizza with a 2 liter of coke cola to go with it. The kids poured themselves a glass of coke cola and grabbed two pieces of pizza before walking over to the table to eat their dinner.

"Where is Homer?" Bart asked, noticing they were one Simpson short.

"Your father is still at the Power Plant," Marge told them as carried over her glass and two pieces of pizza over to the table and sat down. "Mr. Burns put him and the rest of the employees on mandatory over-time for a month,"

"Poor, Dad," Lisa said with a sad look

"Ah, man that sucks," Bart said sympathetically,

"So Daddy isn't coming home?" Maggie asked innocently

"Not right now, sweetie," She told her youngest daughter

"When will he be home?"

"I don't know, honey," The mother of three said, shaking her head. "Probably sometime tonight," This answer disappointed Maggie, though she left the subject alone and went back to her food. There was an awkward silence that followed between Marge and the kids, none of them said a word to one another for the rest of the dinner.

* * *

Homer sat at his console, leaning against it with a bored expression, his eyes began to flutter up and down as he fought off sleep. "Must stay awake...must stay awake." He muttered tiredly to himself, before finally closing his eyes and began snoring. "Simpson!" The bald man jerked awake at the sound suddenly and looked behind him and saw Mr. Smithers standing in the doorway a stern look on his face. "Mr. Smithers, I am so sorry! I was just resting my eyes I swear! Please don't tell Mr. Burns!" Homer apologized frantically,

Waylon Smithers waved his hand in dismissal, "Stop apologizing, Simpson," He started, "I just came here to let you know that you are done for the evening," Homer's eyes widen in surprise at the other man's words, "Really? I can leave?"

"Yes," Waylon nodded his head, "Report back here at 6:30 AM"

"Yes, sir," Homer said, with great optimism. He knew that he should not feel that way because he was going to have to work the same exhausting hours he did tonight, but at that moment he did not care, he could go home and that was all that mattered to him. Homer glanced at his watch and saw it was 11:00 o'clock and that happy feeling he felt seconds ago disappeared in an instant. The middle-aged man had hoped to spend some time with his family and see how his kids first day of school was but that wasn't going to happen, they were all in bed by now.

Homer walked out in the parking lot, there were a few cars still there but it was mostly vacant as he made the lonely trip to his pink sedan and got in. Afterward, he rubbed his face to wake himself up more, before starting up the car, backed up and made his way out of the Power Plant parking lot, listening to KBBL radio station as he drove down the quiet streets of Springfield.

It was not long before Homer soon arrived at his home, finding it was pitch black inside. He got out of the car and made his way up the walkway, pulling out his collection of keys and fumbled to find the one for the front door. When he found it, he put it in the keyhole, turned it and opened the door. Everything was silent as he entered the darkened house, closing the door quietly behind him when he was suddenly greeted with the familiar optimism of Santa's Little Helper jumping and barking at him, happy to see him.

"Shhh," Homer shushed the dog, "It's good to see you too, boy." He whispered, petting the dog briefly as he walked toward the kitchen he found a note:

 _Homer,_

 _Sorry, you missed dinner, there is pizza in the oven for you._

 _Love, Marge_

The large man smiled at the note before walking over and opened the oven, finding a pizza box inside, he pulled it out, brought it over to the table, opened it and began eating, the dog sitting quietly at his side giving a low whine hopefully he will get even the tiniest piece. Afterward, Homer quietly opened the door to the bedroom where he found his wife sleeping soundly, snoring softly.

He tip-toed to the bathroom, the sound of the water running woke up Marge, "Homer?" She asked groggy, turning her head to the bathroom. Her husband then walked out of the bathroom, wearing his pajamas. "Sorry, Marge, I was trying to be quiet so not to wake you," He apologized, "It's all right, I wasn't really sleeping." She confessed, "I have tossed and turned for a better part of an hour, wondering when you would be home."

"Well, I'm home now," Homer smiled, crawling in bed next to his wife "you can sleep now my love," Marge smiled in response, "Goodnight, Homer," The couple kissed one another goodnight before slipping under the covers and turned out the light to go to sleep.

* * *

Marge woke up the next morning to find her husband was not in bed with her, she threw the covers off herself and tiredly made her way downstairs. When she entered the kitchen, she found he was not there either. "He must already be gone to work." That was when she found a note sitting waiting for her on the table.

 _Marge,_

 _I am sorry I did not get to see you this morning but I had to go_

 _in early this morning. Hopefully that means that I will be able to get_

 _off work earlier than last night. By the way, I forgot to tell you last night,_

 _thank you for dinner, it was great. Don't wait up for me, and I hope you_

 _and kids have a good day._

 _Love,_

 _Homer_

Marge smiled at her husband's note before turning her focus to the time, it was 7:15 "Come on, it's time to go." She heard a familiar voice say and turned to found all three of her children, standing there, dressed, book bags in hand and were ready to go. "Okay, go on and wait for me in the car and I'll be out in a couple minutes." Bart, Lisa, and Maggie looked at each other for a moment before doing what they were told.

The kids sat in the orange station wagon, waiting somewhat impatiently for their mother to emerge from the house. Just then they saw her come out, ready to go. She locked the door quickly before walking to the car and got in. "Let's go!" Bart said, now feeling irritated, she put the car in reverse, backing up the car quickly and pulled out into the street and they were soon on their way. Marge dropped off Maggie and Lisa before arriving at Bart's school.

Mother and son walked inside together, Marge began to walk towards the main office, Bart in tow with her when she stopped him. "No, Bart, you're not coming with me."

"Why not? That asshole gave me detention when I didn't even deserve it!" He asked, annoyed "I know, and I'll handle this alone, why don't you go on to class, and I'll talk to you later." Bart stood there for a few seconds, "Fine!" He said, frustrated before walking away. "Don't worry, son, I'll fix everything," She whispered as she watched him disappear from sight.

She narrowed her eyes and made her way inside the main office. Doris turned her attention away from the computer and looked at the woman in front of her. "Can I help you?" The gravely voiced woman asked, "Yes, my name is Marge Simpson and I'm here to speak with Harlan Dondelinger." Marge explained, angrily

"Do you have an appointment?" The other woman asked, nonchalantly, paying no heed to the other woman's temperament. Just then the door to the Principal's door opened "Any calls, Doris?"

"No, sir, nothing yet."The woman replied

The man then looked at the other woman in the room, he stared at her for a moment, "Do I know you?"

"You should," Marge answered, "I graduated from here 18 years ago," Hearing the familiar raspy voice, he then knew who she was now, "Marge Bouvier,"

"It's Simpon now, Marge Simpson," She corrected him, glaring at him

"Of course, my apologies," He apologized to her, "What brings you here to my office?"

"I'm here to talk about my son," She told him, "Bart Simpson,"

"All right," Harlan said, "come into my office," He opened the door so she could walk in first, once she was inside he walked in himself, closing the door behind him as he did. "Have a seat," Marge sat down in the chair positioned in front of the desk, as Dondelinger walked around behind his desk and sat down, folding his hands in front of him. "Now you said you want to talk about your son, Bart."

"Yes," She responded, "You gave him detention yesterday,"

"That's right because he skipped class."

"No, he did not," Marge corrected him, a stern look on her face, "He told me that a group of bullies locked him in a bathroom stall and that's why he did not return back to class,"

Dondelinger rolled his eyes in response

"Is that what he told you?" He asked, "And you believed him?"

"Yes, I do," She replied,

"Why?"

"Because he is my son," Marge told him firmly

"Well, no offense, Marge," Harlan began, standing up and walking around the front of his desk "but your son has a quite the reputation as a trouble-maker, dating back from the time he began kindergarten." The older man said, leaning against the desk casually, crossing his arms "And if memory serves me correctly, Homer had problems with authority too when he went here. Like father, like son as they say,"

Marge was silent for a moment as she stared at the man in front of her. "I see what's happening here," She started, "You are biased against my son because of the history you have with Homer," Marge said, disgusted at the older man's behavior "I understand that there is bad blood between you and my husband, but keep it between the two of you, don't take it out on my son just because of who his father is, he has done nothing to deserve such treatment!" She was practically in his face now, furious over how horrible this man, who she had respected years ago had been so cruel to Bart.

"I would ask if you had listened to Bart's side of the story but I already know you didn't because you were too busy judging him, not just for his record but because he has the Simpson name." Marge then added," My son may not be perfect, and he may have made some bad choices in his life, but he does not deserve to be treated like this!" She told him angrily, "You're lucky that I don't report you to the school board for discrimination, and unfair punishment."

Harlan stood there speechless unable to say anything, he had never seen this side of Marge before and honestly, it frightened him a bit at how aggressive she was being. "The only reason I haven't done it is that I know that you are a good man and that is why I am going to give you an opportunity to fix this mess,"

"What do you want me to do?" Dondelinger asked curiously, speaking for the first time in a while

"I want you to apologize to Bart,"

"What?! But he-"

"You had no evidence that he skipped class but gave him detention anyway, you will apologize to him and it will be sincere otherwise I will call up the school board and tell them about your behavior," She said, warningly. Marge was usually not a confrontational person, though when it came to her children she would fight tooth and nail to protect them and if that meant standing up and acting aggressively to others than so be it.

He gulped nervously

"All right, all right, you have made your point," He told her, holding up his hands "I'll apologize to him before school is over, you have my word," Dondelinger said desperately. "Good," Marge said, "because if you don't, Bart will tell me, so make sure you do it." Harlan watched her retreating that back as she then left the office, closing the door behind her. He breathed a sigh of relief that she was out of the room.

"Harlan, what have you gotten yourself into?" He whispered to himself, "I'm getting too old for this..." The older man shook his head and sighed

Marge walked silently out of the main office and out of the school building, she let out a sigh, hoping that things would begin to improve for Bart, High School is hard enough without teachers and other students making it more difficult. She hoped later that day when he returned home to hear a good report from him of what a good day he had "I guess I will just have to wait and see..." She said to herself as she walked back to her car. When she arrived there, she turned, taking one last look at the school "Have a good day, Bart." Afterward, she got in the car and drove off.

At Springfield Junior High School, Lisa sat in class and watched as her teacher was writing a series of math equations on the chalkboard. Once he was finished, he turned his focus to the class and asked, "All right, class," He began, "Can anyone come up here and solve these equations?" Everyone immediately turned to Lisa, who looked at them awkwardly.

She wanted to raise her hand, because of course, she knew the answer to all the questions, though she thought back to what Bart had told her, "...as the years went on people grew tired of your know-it-all behavior and grew resentful of this and your constant need to act superior, bolster your ego and make everyone else look dumb,"

She never realized how people had viewed her though it explained why she was never able to really make any friends, and why teachers often seemed annoyed at her answering all the questions. "Lisa," The teacher spoke, "Do you know the answer to the equations on the chalkboard?" Lisa once again turned her attention to the stares of all the other students in the room, who were just waiting for her to answer.

She looked back at him and shook her head in response.

"No, sir." She replied,"I'm afraid I don't," She looked at the other students in the classroom, who remained silent though there was a few of them that grinned in satisfaction at her cowardice before returning their attention to the front of the classroom. Lisa teared up because though she desired to be accepted and to have friends, she felt that she was not being true to herself lying to avoid ridicule. "What am I suppose to do?" Lisa whispered to herself before placing her face in her hands.

* * *

The bell rang and Bart and Milhouse walked out of their second-period to their lockers as they swapped out their textbooks for what they needed for their next period when suddenly Bart head a voice speak to him, "Bart!" He looked behind him and saw a gray-haired teen with short hair and next to him was a black teenage boy. "Richard! Lewis! It's so good to see you!" Bart smiled at his friends, hugging them "How have you been? I didn't see you yesterday."

"Yeah we missed you," Richard said, "We ran into Milhouse and he said you went to clear things up with your teacher..."

"Yeah, I got detention because of her...I tried to explain myself but she wasn't interested in hearing what happened, Dondelinger was the same way." He said with a narrowed look on his face. "Anyway, forget about that. I want to hear about your summer, what you guys been up to,"

"Nothing much happened, just relaxed around the house, watching movies and playing video games for the most part, before school started my family and I went on a trip to the Grand Canyon which was pretty cool, I will admit." Richard explained, "And I just helped my Dad on odd jobs around town, gave me a chance to make some extra cash." Lewis said joining the conversation for the first time.

"Hello boys," The four boys froze in their place, their faces going from their usual vibrant yellow to suddenly pale as they turned and saw them, Sherri and Terri standing just a few feet away from them. Looking exactly the same in terms of their looks, their hairstyle was somewhat the same, except it was shorter than when they were younger and over the years they had decided to show some individuality and started wearing different clothes.

"Oh dear god," Bart whispered in horror, "It's them..."

"Relax, Bart, their not going to do anything..." Milhouse assured his friend

"Really? Have you forgotten the curse they put on Nelson last year?"

"Bart it wasn't a curse..." Milhouse protested,

"He talked like a girl for a month and gave himself wedgie's, Milhouse," Bart interrupted his friend, "that's a curse..."

"Fine, its a curse, but that was a year ago...maybe they have matured since then,"

They turned their attention back to the twins once more and saw they were now talking to each other in their "twin language" they were famous for which began to freak the four boys out. "Let's get out of here...before they decide to put a curse on us too."

"Yeah, I gotta get to my third-period class," Richard then said,

"Same here," Lewis chimed and with that the two boys departed, leaving just Bart and Milhouse

"We should get going too, Bart." Milhouse said to his best friend, who nodded his head "Yeah, let's go." The two boys then departed from the scene and headed to their next class. After they were gone, Sherri and Terri giggled "Gets them every time," They said in unison before walking off to head to their next class.

* * *

Homer yawned as he fought to stay awake at the controls of his console. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was just now at 9 o'clock in the morning. "Just two and a half to go before I can call Marge," The large man thought, as sighed quietly to himself. It was only day two and already he was already wishing this mandatory over-time to be over with. Not only was it cutting into his sleeping time, but it was taking him away from his family while Marge was the most involved parent when it came to the kids, that did not mean he did not care and love his children, of course, he did, it was just he was usually exhausted after working at the Power Planet and wanted to relax usually with watching TV and drinking some beer and did not want to hear all the whining and complaining the kids usually had.

"I need some coffee," Homer said, getting up from his chair and walked to the break room, walking over to the counter to grab a cup. He poured himself some hot coffee, mixing it with the right amount of sugar. Homer then grabbed a pink sprinkled donut to go with his coffee, just to add a bit of extra sugar to wake him up more. After he was done, he decided there was nothing exciting going on at his console so he decided to go about his rounds as safety inspector to make sure everything was in working order.

He grabbed his clipboard and began walking around the plant, checking meters on various and other safety hazards. The tanks were working as they should, so there was no problem there but he did find there were a few leaks of green glowing plutonium dripping from the ceiling, narrowly missing the middle-aged man and eating a hole through the floor. He checked marked all the positives and errors and made a mental note to let Mr. Burns of the things that needed to be fixed some point during the day. Once finished, he checked his watch again and saw it was now 11:00. He has worked for an hour and a half, he sighed once more "When is this day going to be over..."

* * *

Its now lunchtime at Springfield High School, Bart sat at a table with Milhouse, Lewis, and Richard quietly eating his Hamburger and Fries that he had in front of him, while the other three boys were having a conversation with each other when they were suddenly interrupted. "Hey, Simpson!" This got the attention of the four boys who then turned their heads at the sound of the voice speaking.

It was Jason, Kyle, and Devon

Bart rolled his eyes and sighed "Not these guys again..." He grumbled to himself, before turning his focus back to the three teenagers in front of him and stood up "You guys seriously need to get a hobby and stop bothering me, all right?" At this moment, Dondelinger entered the cafeteria and saw Bart with Jason, Kyle, and Devon and decided to stand back and silently watch the scene unfold, interested to see what will happen.

"Relax, Simpson, it is not what you think," Jason smirked, waving his hand dismissively, "We just came here but as it turns out we have a common interest," The older boy said, smilingly slyly "What are you talking about?" Bart asked, raising an eyebrow puzzled "Dondelinger, we heard about what happened and him giving you detention unfairly and thought you would want to get even with him." Jason said, wrapping his arm around Bart's shoulder.

Dondelinger watched suspiciously, hearing his name being spoken, but was too far away to hear what they were saying exactly.

"Where did you hear that?" Bart asked, glaring at the older teen, Jason did not verbally answer instead he grinned and pointed at Milhouse, "Milhouse you didn't..."

"I'm sorry, Bart they threatened to shove me in a locker if I didn't talk," Bart rolled his eyes once more at his best friend's response. Bart looked back at the older boy in front of him and pondered over his offer for a moment. It would be nice to get even for Dondelinger for what he did, to make him pay for treating him so badly, but then words echoed his mind, _"Your father, however, was a slacker who got into constant trouble, and it was obvious he would never amount to anything." The old man sneered, "It is clear now that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, like father like son as they say,"_ Bart felt the anger boil inside of him for a moment at the rash judgment from the older man, before another voice echoed in his mind, it was his mother's voice, _"Please don't get in any trouble here." She pleaded as Bart stared at her. "I will try." He said, making her smile "Oh, that's my special little guy." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek._

"So what's your answer, Simpson?" Jason asked, interrupting his thoughts

"Look whatever he told you, I'm not interested ok, yeah I was mad at Dondelinger for what he did to me, but it doesn't matter now, I served my time and it's over, I'm not going to get myself in trouble again on account of you three,"

"Okay, that's fine, I understand," Jason said casually, before slamming his fist into Bart's gut hard, knocking the wind out of him, making the spiky-haired teen fall instantly to his knees and cough as he held his stomach.

"Bart!" Milhouse, Richard, and Lewis said in unison, rushing to their friend's aid,

"You had your chance, Simpson," the dark-haired boy warned him, glaring down at him "but you blew it, from this point on you better watch your back," Afterward the three teens walked away, leaving the injured boy still on his knees trying to catch his breath.

"Are you all right, Bart?" Milhouse asked

"I-I'm fine," He wheezed

"What a jerk, sucker punching you like that!" Richard sneered, as the three friends helped Bart back up to his feet.

Just then the four boys saw a shadow cast over them and looked and saw it was Dondelinger. Bart sighed, "What do you want, Dondelinger?" He asked, feeling rather annoyed and did not want to deal with any more issues today.

"Listen, I'm sorry for the way I treated you yesterday, it was wrong of all that I said and did to you, I shouldn't have judged you or just gave you detention like that without a good reason, I should have listened to your side of the story and I didn't and for that I apologize."

"Forget it," Bart said, before turning to his tray and picked it up, though before he walked away from him, Dondelinger spoke again, making the teen look at him once more. "Those boys, they wanted you to do something to get back at me, didn't they?"

"It doesn't matter what they wanted me to do, I didn't do it," He responded, sharply "Well, in any case, thank you," Bart was silent for a few moments, simply just staring at the bald man before he replied in a quiet voice, "I didn't do it for you," He then walked away, dumping the contents of his tray in the garbage, putting his tray away before departing out the door. Once he was gone, Dondelinger whispered to himself "I know you didn't,"

In the hallway, outside to the cafeteria, Bart leaned against the stone wall, his head tilted back against it. He knew that he just put a bigger target on his back with turning down Jason and his brothers on their offer to help get even with Dondelinger for what he did, but he didn't care at that moment. Bart just felt relief that at least he could look his mother in the eye, knowing that he had done the right thing, that made it worth it to him.

* * *

Marge was sitting on the couch her head tilted back as she rested her eyes. She had finished all of her cleaning and now had nothing to do, so she decided to rest her eyes for a while. The doorbell soon rang, waking the blue-haired woman just as she began to drift off to sleep. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, when she heard the doorbell again, "Hold on, I'm coming, I'm coming!" She called, letting whoever was on the other end to stop ringing the bell.

She soon arrived at the door and opened it to find her elderly neighbor from next door, Sylvia Winfield standing in front of her. The older woman had her arms crossed and had a did not look happy as she stared up at her. "Hello, Mrs. Winfield, what brings you here?" Marge asked politely,

"Hello, Mrs. Simpson, I won't take up much of your time," Sylvia began, "I just came over to let you know that my husband and I decided to move," She told her, "and there are few things you can do to help us sell our home,"

"First off, when your husband walks in front of the window, could you ask him to please wear pants," This was not really a question, it was a demand, Marge opened her mouth to answer "Next, could you please ask your children to pick up their belongings in the backyard, and cut your grass the condition of it is absolutely atrocious,"

"Of course, Mrs. Winfield I will ask my son to do it right away,"

"Third thing, could you please take in your Jack-O-Lantern's from past Halloween's?" The elderly woman asked, pointing at the rotting pumpkins beside the front porch, the third one was simply green mush with flies swarming around it.

"Yes, I'll get right on that," Marge said, a look of embarrassment on her face at Homer's lack of effort to throw away the Jack-O-Lantern's. "Finally, can you please cover your garbage, its attracting wildlife," Mrs. Winfield said, gesturing to the Moose currently digging through and eating the garbage. "Oh, my gosh," Marge said, covering her mouth "Don't worry, Mrs. Winfield, it will be taken care of, I promise,"

"Thank you, Mrs. Simpson, I appreciate it," The older woman then walked away and Marge closed the door. It was barely heading into the afternoon and already she was exhausted and was ready for a break but there was no time, the kids got off school at 3:00 and she had still so much to do, there was no time to rest. "I guess the first thing I should do is go to the Kwike-Mart and pick up a few things for dinner tonight.

Just as she was getting ready to walk out the door, she heard the phone ring and picked it up. "Hello?" She asked, "Hi, Marge," Homer spoke on the other end, making the blue-haired woman smile. "Oh, hi, Homie how is work."

"Exhausting," He sighed, "How are things there?"

"Okay," Marge replied, "Mrs. Winfield was just here saying she and her husband are moving,"

"Well, good riddance," Homer said with a narrowed look "never liked the old the bat,"

"Yes, well, she gave me a list of suggestions to help them sell their home," She explained,

"Like what?"

"Just simple things, like the kids picking up their belongings in the backyard, cutting the grass, you wearing pants as you walk past the window..."

"She isn't the boss of me," He grumbled, "It's a free country and if I don't want to wear pants in my own home, that is my god given right!" Marge rolled her eyes at her husband's words, "So anyway," She began, "when the kids get home I am going to ask them to pick their stuff up in the yard,"

"You know they aren't going to like that..."

"I know, but they have to because I don't want to argue with this woman, she has already given us enough grief over the years with her complaining about one thing or another." A silence followed between the couple before Homer broke it and said, "I gotta go, Marge, I will call you on my next break...whenever that is." He said with a sigh, "I understand,try to have a good day, Homie,"

"I'll do my best, I love you," He told her

"I love you too," She smiled and afterward hung up. Marge then grabbed her car keys and headed to the garage where she then opened the door before getting in her vehicle, backed up and pulled out the driveway and headed to the Kwike-Mart. The automatic doors dinged as they opened, making Apu turn his head, "Hello, Mrs. Simpson how are you?" He greeted the woman with his usual smile,

"I'm doing good, Apu, how are you?" She smiled in return at her friend "I'm doing all right," Apu answered, "Is there anything I can help you with today?"

"No, just picking up a few things," Marge replied,

"I understand," He said, "well if you need any help, you know where to find me," '

"Thank you, Apu, I'll do that," She then grabbed a cart and began walking up and down the isles picking up things like eggs, milk, chicken, beef, vegetables, soft drinks etc. when she was finished she walked back to the counter, paid for her items "Thank you, come again!" Apu said cheerfully "Thank you, Apu!" She smiled at the man one last time before departing the market, loaded her groceries in the trunk before getting in her car and driving off.

* * *

The final bell rang at Springfield High School, the end of the school day, kids exited the school, racing hurriedly to their buses. Bart exited the school and headed to his bus where he climbed on board, walking to the very back and sat down, dropping his book bag at his side and stared at the window when he felt the seat shift and move and looked beside him to find Milhouse. "Hey, man," The other boy greeted, "Hey," Bart said, turning to his friend. The school bus then began to move and as they pulled away out of the parking lot, Milhouse turned back to Bart was staring once more out the window.

He thought about asking him about what happened at lunch today and what Jason and his brothers had said to him, but decided not to bring up the subject. If his years of friendship of Bart has taught him anything is to let him come to you. He had tried in the past to get Bart to open up to him when things were bothering him and he would always shut down and clam up, only when he was ready to talk about what was bothering him did he finally open up to him about what he was feeling inside and this was no different. He would simply have to wait until Bart was ready to talk about it, if he ever did.

The bus made a stop at Springfield Junior High where they picked up 6th, 7th and 8th graders. As the bus began to fill up with more kids, Bart turned his head silently and saw his sister Lisa board the bus and take a seat all by herself, and watched as she turned her head to look out the window. He debated whether or to go over and sit with her, but decided to give her some space and stayed where he was, turning back to the window, but glancing in her direction every once and awhile.

The bus soon arrived at its destination and let Lisa, Bart, and Milhouse off. Lisa being the first one off, had a head start on the two boys have been sitting closer to the front of the bus, so she entered the Simpson household first, closing the door behind her just as Bart and Milhouse stepped off the vehicle. Milhouse began crossing the street, turning back to Bart for a moment to wave, "See you tomorrow, Bart!" He called back at him, "See ya!" Bart replied, waving back as he headed inside the house.

When he walked inside, he dropped his book bag by the door when suddenly, he was greeted by his baby sister Maggie, "Bart!" She smiled, running to him "Hey Maggie," He smiled as he then picked her up and she hugged him tightly. "How was your day?" He then asked her, "Good! I drew a picture of all of us and the teacher liked it!" She told him happily, "That's great, Maggie," He told her, smiling at her "You want to see it?" She asked him, "Mommy has it hanging up on the fridge?"

"Sure," The teen said, putting her down

The young girl then grabbed her brother's hand "Come on, follow me!" She said, excitedly, pulling him "I'm coming, Maggie, slow down!" He said laughingly, as he allowed himself to be dragged to the kitchen. When the two Simpson children when they entered the room they found their mother standing at the stove, breaking spaghetti noodles into a boiling pot.

"Hey, sweetie, how was your day?" Marge asked, looking over at her son.

"What can I say? It was school," He began, "I am just happy it's over," Marge murmured a bit at his answer, "But you had a good day, right?" She asked, making Bart look at her, "Yeah, sure you can say that if you want, for me I wouldn't say it was better or worse than yesterday. I am just glad its done for the day." He explained, getting slightly annoyed "Now can we move on, please?"

"Of course," She replied

"Bart, look, look!" Maggie said, pulling at his arm again. He turned to Maggie again and saw that she was pointing at the drawing she had done in class that day of the family, drawn and colored in crayon.

"Wow, this looks great, Mags, you did a great job!" He smiled at her, picking her up in his arms "Thanks, Bart!" She said, smilingly brightly "You're welcome," The two hugged briefly, after pulling apart Bart then added, "I knew Lisa wasn't the only "special gifted" Simpson in this family,"

Bart then set Maggie back down on the ground before getting into the fridge, "Now that's not true, dear you have many special talents your self," Marge told him, as he then grabbed a soda before shutting the door again.

"Like what?" He asked, opening the can

"You're very artistic too, you use to love to draw when you were young, but never kept up with it, I never understood why though," Marge told him, "Guess I lost interest," Bart shrugged his shoulders taking a drink of soda before taking a seat at the table, Maggie sat down in the chair next to him. "So how was your day, Mom?" He asked, "Same as always," The blue-haired woman answered, "I cleaned, did laundry, stopped at the Kwike-Mart to pick up a few things for dinner," She explained, as she placed some cookies and milk in front of Maggie.

"Thanks, Mommy," Maggie asked before she began eating the cookies

"You're welcome, sweetie," Marge said, before turning back to her son. "Also, Mrs. Winfield stopped today," She began,

"Oh, the old hag," Bart sneered

"Bart, don't start..." Marge warned him, "Well, she is!" Bart said insistently, "Nobody likes her, not even the Flanders like them and they like everybody."

"She stopped by cause they said they are moving and would like our help in selling their home,"

"How?" He asked quizzically

"She wants you kids to pick up your stuff in the yard, and if we could cut our grass, so we are going to eat dinner early tonight so you can get started,"

"Get started on what?" He asked,

"Picking up around here," She said, "Tell Lisa dinner will be ready in a half an hour, in the meantime go do your homework."

"But Mom-" He began to protest, but was interrupted, "No buts, do it!" She growled at him, and he then got up from his seat, grumbling under his breath as he grabbed his bookbag by the door before then climbing the staircase "old hag, can't move away fast enough" When he got to the top of the stairs, he heard the sounds of muffled crying from coming from Lisa's room. He walked over to the door and gently knocked on it

"Go away!" Lisa shouted

"Lisa? Are you ok?" Bart asked as he then opened the door, peering a bit inside that's when he saw his sister with her face buried her pillow, clutching it close to her as she sobbed heavily into it, "What's wrong?" He pushed open the door completely and walked inside, "Nothing, just leave me alone," She choked out

He walked over to the bed and sat down on it. Bart was silent for a moment before asking," Did something happen at school? Was someone mean to you?" She did not answer. "Come on, Lisa, talk to me, tell me what's wrong." She then pulled her head from her pillow and turned to him, looking at him angrily, "Why should I?! It's all your fault!"Lisa shouted, her sudden outburst caused him to jump off the bed

Bart scoffed, "Me? What did I do?" He asked, glaring

"What did you do?" She asked getting up from the bed and marched up to him, glaring daggers up at him "I took your advice and guess what? It didn't work! I am still being made fun by the kids in my class!"

"Grow up, Lisa," Bart sneered, "You can't expect people to change after one day, you have to give these things time," He told her, "also, if you don't want to be a target for bullies, expand your interest in other things besides school, homework and your saxophone,"

"Show interest in other things? Like what?" She asked curiously, "I don't know," He shrugged his shoulders, "find out what other people are interested in by listening to their conversations, what bands they like, what movies they enjoy watching and check them out and then afterward join in on the conversation."

"I don't know..." She said, skeptically

"Look if making friends is truly important to you, this is the only way to do it, by showing an interest in what other people like you will get attention and people will start talking to you," He advised her, "If you don't want to do it, then don't come crying anymore for me to help you, because this is the best advice I can give you,"

He then began making his way towards the door when he was stopped when she said, "Wait!" Bart stopped and turned towards her and watched as she walked up to him once more, "I will try...what you said, about taking an interest in what other people like,"

Good," He nodded and smiled, "On a change of subject, I am supposed to tell you that dinner is in a half hour and after it's over Mom wants us to clean up the yard,"

"Why?"

"Because that Winfield's are moving and want us to help them sell their home by picking up our belongs in the backyard, also they want us to cut our grass,"

"I see," She responded,

"In the meantime, until dinner is ready, she said we have to work on our homework,"

"Do you have any?" Lisa then asked, crossing her arms "I just have Algebra and English homework to do, what about you?"

"No," She smiling

"I forgot who I am talking to, you probably did it at school, didn't you?" He asked, "What am I saying, of course, you did." Bart said, rolling his eyes before walking to his room "Would you be interested in doing some more?" The teenage boy asked hopefully

"No, thanks, I'm good," She answered, the smile still present on her face.

"Dammit!" He cursed, making Lisa laugh as he walked into his room and slammed the door behind him.

A half an hour later, it was time for dinner, Marge had made Spaghetti with Meatballs. Everything was silent between the four Simpson's until Marge broke it. "So, Lisa," She began, wiping her mouth with a napkin "How was school today?" Lisa and Bart looked at each other before she turned back to her mother and said, "It was fine," She answered, smiling slightly "A little slow but otherwise it was okay,"

"Good, I'm glad," Marge smiled

"How was your day, Mom?" The pre-teen asked

"Same as usual, I cleaned, did laundry, went grocery shopping, just an average day."

Lisa nodded

"I see," Once more silence fell upon and when dinner was over, Lisa, Maggie, and Bart walked outside on the back porch and examined the backyard. It had only been a week since the grass was cut, though between the rain and sunshine they had gotten the last few days it had grown a few inches long. Nothing too serious but enough to pose an issue with their neighbors, there were a few toys that were lying around the yard, also along the fence line was a number of weeds that needed to be pulled.

"All right," Bart began, turning to his sisters " Here is what we are going to do," He began, "Lisa, you will be in charge of taking of the weeds over there. Maggie, pick up the toys in the yard, I'll get started on the yard." Bart explained to them, "Now that we know what we're doing, let's get started!"

"Right!" Lisa and Maggie said in unison

The three got to work immediately. As Bart went to the garage to get the lawn mower, Lisa got started on the weeds while Maggie began picking up the toys in the yard. Bart opened up the garage door, walked over to the lawn mower, unscrewed the cap to check the gas before screwing it back on and pulling it out of the garage and into the yard. He yanked hard on the cord three times and on the third yank, the engine roared to life and began working on the front yard which took him a half hour to finish because he went over it a couple times to make sure it got it all.

By the time he reached the backyard, Maggie had finished her job, Lisa was still doing hers as he then began cutting the grass. It took him longer to finish the job since the yard was wider and there was always so much to maneuver around so cutting the grass in the backyard usually took about 45 minutes to an hour to finish.

This took the same amount of time and when it was over and he was done, he turned to his sister Lisa. "Hey, Lisa, are you done over there?" He asked, wiping the sweat from his face with his shirt. "Yeah, I'm done," She huffed, ready to call it a day too. The two siblings walked inside only to be met with blissful cool air from the air conditioner and collapsed on the couch to cool off.

"You kids get finished outside?" Marge asked, walking in the room carrying two glasses of ice water for them to drink. The only response she got was incoherent groans,

"Good," She smiled, "Then go on upstairs and go take a shower, put your dirty clothes in the hamper, then change into your pajamas and go to bed. You got to get up early tomorrow for school."

"But Mom we just finished with our chores, can't we rest first before-" They began to protest but were not allowed to finish as Marge then interrupted them, "Don't argue with me! Just do what you are told!" The three kids groaned in response and began their journey up the staircase.

"I'll go first," Bart said

"Why do you get to go first?" Lisa asked, crossing her arms

"Because I did more work than you did," Bart explained, "In total, I cut grass for an hour and thirty minutes and in this heat that takes a great effort,"

"Fair enough," She replied, "All right, go ahead but I am next." Lisa then retreated to her bedroom, same as Maggie to wait for their turns. Before entering the bathroom, Bart grabbed a change of clothes, a towel, and a washcloth. Afterward, he walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower and began stripping off his clothes before stepping into the shower. A few minutes passed and he emerged from the bathroom, wearing a pair of boxers and a white tank top.

He walked up to Lisa's door and knocked on it before speaking through the door "Shower is all yours," Bart then walked to his room and closed the door, hearing the soft reply of "Thanks," His sister Lisa said through his door before moments later hearing the shower running. He turned out the light, walked to his bed, drawing back the covers, sat down, and swung his legs up on the bed before covering himself up.

He looked at the digital clock on his nightstand and saw 9:00 P.M. glowing brightly in the darkness and though normally he would not go to bed exactly when his mother had told him to go to bed, today he was absolutely exhausted and needed to rest and closed his eyes and soon was sound asleep.

* * *

Two weeks go by and things had changed a bit in that time. Lisa had taken Bart's advice and began listening to people more, getting involved in what others were doing and was starting to make friends. Bart, on the other hand, had noticed Dondelinger was keeping a close eye on him which might explain why Jason and his brothers had not attempted anything.

However, this did not mean the bullies had ceased picking on him, no far from it actually, though instead of approaching him publically, they waited until Dondelinger was not around and he was alone before ganging up on him, that way there was no witnesses and if he said something it was just his word against theirs.

Meanwhile, at home, he and his sisters were keeping with cutting the grass and keeping the yard toy free as people stopped by to look at their neighbor's house. There had been many young couples in their late 20's to early 30's who had looked at the house, but nothing that panned out.

Until Saturday, Bart was outside skateboarding on the skateboard ramp that Homer had built for him a couple years back as a birthday gift. As he did a frontside ollie, his mother came outside and said, "Bart," She began, "sweetie, I am going to go welcome our new neighbors, you want to come with me?"

"No thanks," He said, doing another frontside ollie "Why I don't you ask, Lisa, I am sure she would happy to go,"

"I can't," Marge replied, "She is busy studying for a test coming up, and Maggie is taking a nap upstairs." Bart slowed down his skateboarding, before coming to a total stop. He looked at his mother and saw the pleading look in her eyes, making him sigh and say, "Fine," He groaned "I'll go,"

"Oh, thank you, sweetie," Marge said, now beaming from ear to ear, hugging him "Yeah, yeah, let's get this over with," He grumbled, as she pulled apart from him.

A few moments later mother and son were on their way next door, Marge had made an assortment of treats such as fudge and her famous chocolate chip cookies which had included with the other "Springfield Welcome Wagon" goodies that she had stored in the wicker basket that dangled loosely around her forearm. Bart remained quiet, hands shoved deep in his pockets as he stared disgruntledly at the ground.

They walked up the steps on the front porch as the Clumsy Student Movers unloaded the furniture out of the truck. Marge rang the doorbell and seconds later the door opened, "Hello, may I help you?" A young female then spoke, Bart looked up and immediately became slack-jawed at the very attractive girl that stood before him, her hazel eyes sparkled in the sunlight, her long brown hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her back like a beautiful waterfall. His heart pounded against his chest so hard, he thought it might burst out of his chest. Everything else around him faded, as he became entranced by her beauty.

 _This magic moment, so different and so new_

 _was like any other, until I kissed you_

 _and then it happened, it took me by surprise..._

"Bart, introduce yourself," Marge whispered, nudging her son, bringing him out of his daydream. "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry," He looked between his mother and the girl in front of him, blushing furiously "I-I'm Bart," He stuttered, "Bart Simpson," He said, smiling sheepishly as he ran his hand through his hair, "It's nice to meet you, Bart, I'm Laura Powers." She said, smiling at him

"Nice to meet you," He said, the blush still ever present on his face _"Oh my god, she is beautiful! Her face, her smile, her hair, her eyes, everything about her is simply amazing!"_ Bart thought, trying his best to not to embarrass himself in front of this girl, but with his heart pounding in his ears, and finding himself slightly short of breath he did not know how long he could keep his cool.

"My mother is inside, Mrs. Simpson, please go right in," Laura said politely, "Oh, you speak so politely to adults," Marge said, impressed with the teenage girl's manners. "My upbringing was painfully strict ma'me." The teenage girl then told her, "That's sweet," Marge said, patting the girl on the head before walking inside, leaving the two teenagers alone with each other, both smiling nervously at one another.

 _A/N: That is it for Chapter 4, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Chapter 5 will be coming soon, you have my word. Stay tuned for it! Later guys!_


	5. Chapter 5: New Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own The Simpsons, they are the property of Matt Groening, Sam Simon, James L. Brooks and 20th Century FOX

A/N: Hey everyone! Before I mention what this installment is about, let me first say I how terribly sorry I am for the long delay on this chapter, I promise the next chapter will not take so long to post. Also, I hope your New Year has been good so far!

In this installment, the focus will be on Marge and Bart getting to know their new neighbors. Marge and Ruth become fast friends, however, Bart and Laura's relationship will be a gradual process growing from friendship into eventual love. Also on another note, I had to go back and watch "New Kid On The Block" to see how the layout of the Power's house.

Love at First Sight

Written By: SSJ God SS Juuhachi

Chapter 5: New Friends

"Hello?"

Marge walked through the front door, quietly closing it behind her as she observed the interior of the house. She not been in the house since The Winfield's had thrown a thrown a party a few years ago which resulted in Homer throwing up in the laundry hamper and them never getting invited back again, and their everlasting feud with them. In that time she had forgotten how nice the interior was and how similar the layout was to her own home.

In front of her was a large staircase leading to the second floor of the home, to her right was a closed-door, leading and to her right, she saw an archway leading into a living room type of area, with a white sofa and a window behind it and a glass coffee table positioned in front of it.

Just then a woman, appearing to be around her early to mid-'30s walked into the living room carrying a box. The woman wore a red bandana on her head, gold hoop earrings, a lavender sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up to above her elbows, blue jeans, and brown sandals. She set down the box before the

"Yes, my name is Marge Simpson and I am the welcome wagon! ," The blue-haired woman smiled, holding up the wicker basket that was still positioned around her wrist. The woman smiled. "Oh thank you," She smiled, walking over to Marge. "That was very nice of you." She told her, "I am Ruth by the way,"

"Hello, Ruth, it's nice to meet you,"

"Likewise," Ruth said, "Would you like to sit down?"

"Thank you," Marge said graciously as the two women then walked into the living room area and Marge sat down. "Can I get you something to drink?" Ruth then asked, "No, thank you, I am good," Ruth then said down, as she did Marge removed the wicker basket from around her wrist and set it in front of the other woman.

"Let's see what we have here," Ruth said, slowly removing the contents from the basket. "Cookies, Fudge," She said, before pulling out a coupon for Moe's Tavern, "What is Moe's Tavern?" She asked, a look of confusion on her face "Oh, that is the local bar in town, my husband spends most of his free time there," She said, before then adding "Not to mention most of his paycheck,"

"I see," She replied, "They offer one free beer? I will check it out, thank you," Ruth then placed her hands on a DVD with the title "XXX BUTTS" printed on it. "And this is for the man of the house," Marge began, awkwardly "Which I guess is you," She said, before murmuring and pulling on her pearls uncomfortably,

"I guess I should explain," Ruth began, setting aside the DVD "Laura's father and I divorced two years ago, they're so sweet when you marry them but soon it just career, career, career." Marge once again murmured, unsure of what to say.

* * *

Outside, Bart and Laura have moved from the porch and are now sitting on the curb, neither saying a word. Bart turned to her awkward, "So," He began, rubbing his arm up and down nervously "Where are you from?"

"California," She answered, making his eyes light up "Hollywood California? Did you meet any movie stars?" He asked with excitement in his voice, making her laugh at his behavior "No, I didn't," She smiled, "I only lived there till I was 5 and then my parents and I moved away and began traveling to different parts of the world."

"Really?" Bart asks with interest "That sounds fun,"

"Sure it sounds that way," She began, "But trust me, it's not,"

"What do you mean, I don't understand."

"My father is a former corporal in the U.S. Military so we traveled around a lot which made it impossible for me to make friends."

"I'm sorry, that must have been hard to deal with," Bart said sympathetically, "It's okay, besides, I don't dwell on it," She said, dismissively, "Besides, that part of my life is over and now I am here in Springfield."

Bart smiled

"That's true," There was a brief silence between before Laura "You want to do something?" She asked suddenly, changing the subject, catching Bart off guard "L-Like what?" He stammered, "I don't know," She said, pausing for a moment to try to think of something before turning her attention back to him. "How about you take me on a tour of the town?"Laura asked as she then stood up on her feet,

"You want me to show you around?" Bart looked up at her curiously "Sure, why not? I am new here and it would be helpful to have someone show me all the hip places to hang out," She told him "Of course, I understand if you don't want to," She shrugged and began to walk back towards the house "Wait!" He called, as he then scrambled to his feet "Don't go, I'll show you around," He told her, smiling as he scratched the back of his head.

"Great! You can show me around to all the cool hang out places," She said smiling, as she walked past him leaving standing there, confused and still scratching his head. "What just happened?" He asked himself when suddenly Laura called out to him "Hey, are you coming or what?"

" I am coming, hold up!" Bart called after her, coming back to his senses again and raced to catch up with her, making her laugh once more. "What were you doing back there waiting for an invitation?" She teased him once more, making him give her a narrowed look "Shut up!" He said, making her laugh in response.

Bart proceeded to take Laura on a tour of the town, showing her the highlights of what the town had to offer, including all the popular places kids their age, hung out at which was Noise Land Arcade, The Android Dungeon, Aztec Theater, Springfield Googolplex Theaters, and the Kwik-E-Mart.

When they finished the tour, Laura said, "Thank you, Bart, for showing me around town, that was really nice of you."

"You're welcome," He said with a smile, "I was wondering though, what is that over there?" Laura asked, pointing at two cooling towers as gray smoke billowed heavily from them in the distance, looking almost ominously over the town. "Oh, that? That's the Nuclear Power Plant. It generates energy to the town,"

"Really?" She asked, curiously "Isn't that dangerous though? I mean what if something goes wrong?"

"It has been there for years and there has only been one threat in my lifetime where the plant almost had a nuclear meltdown and my Dad averted it," He explained, turning to look at her again

"You're Dad?" She asked,

"Yeah, at the moment he is up there working." He said, looking back at the plant.

"What does he do?"

"He is a safety technician," He replied, "He is on mandatory overtime now, so I haven't seen him at all for the last couple weeks."

Just then Bart felt his pocket vibrate. He reached and pulled out his phone and saw he had received a text message.

"What is it?" She asked, noticing the intent look on his face. "It's my Mom she wants where I am," He answered, before typing a quick response before hitting send and putting the phone back in his pocket.

"What did you tell her?"

"I said that I was showing you around town and would be back soon."

"Oh, okay," She said, "You think I should text my mom and let her know where I am?"

"No, I am sure my Mom is still talking to her and will let her know what's going on." He explained, "Maybe," Laura responded, "if though they aren't, we better start back, it's getting kinda getting late and I have to unpack my stuff still."

"Okay," He said, a look of disappointment on his face at the thought their time ending. He turned to his head and noticed they were still standing across the street from the Kwik-E-Mart. His eyes brightened as he suddenly got an idea before turning back to the girl in front of him. "Before we do that," He began, "Can I buy you a Squishee?"

Laura gave him a puzzled look

"What's a Squishee?"

Bart smiled in response "Come on, let me show you." He gestured for her to follow him, "What?" She asked confused "Come on," He motioned for her to follow him once more, after a brief delay she follows after him, going across the street to the Kwik-E-Mart and walked inside.

* * *

Moments later, the two teens were walking back to their homes, slurping on their Squishee's. Laura got a Blue Squishy and Bart got a Lime Green Squishy. "Not bad," Laura said, "What do you call this again?" She asked, "A Squishy," Bart replied, before going back to his frozen beverage.

"It's pretty good, I like it." She said, before going back to slurping on the Squishy. They soon finished them and arrived at their houses. Bart and Laura then walked inside the Powers new home, Bart closing the door behind him. The two could hear their mother's still talking making Laura laugh quietly, "You were right, they are still talking,"

"I told you," Bart said with a grin on his face. Hearing the two teens talking quietly, Ruth asked: "Hey you two just getting back?" Laura made her way to the living room, "Yeah, Mom," She responded "We just got back a few moments ago,"

"Where is Bart?" Marge asked, not seeing her son. "He's right behind me," Laura said, and as if on cue, the spiky-haired boy walked in the room. "Oh there you are," Marge smiled, "Ruth, I would like you to meet my son Bart Simpson."

"Nice to meet you, Ma'me," He said, extending his hand out to her, "Same here," She said, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. "Bart showed me around town at a lot of the cool places to hang out at," She said, "He took me to the Kwik-E-Mart and bought us both these things called Squishee's," Laura told her mother, making Ruth give her a look of confusion

"What the hell is a Squishee?"

"A Squishee is a frozen drink that comes in a variety of flavors. It's quite popular here in Springfield." Bart explained, "I see," Ruth responded, still not quite understanding what he was talking about. "Well, Laura, I am glad you had a good time, but there still is plenty of unpacking to do,"

"Okay, Mom," Laura said, she then turned to Bart "Thanks again Bart for the tour around town, it was great,"

"No problem, glad you enjoyed it," He said turning to look at her. "I guess I will see you at school then," Laura nodded her head "Yeah, see you at school," She said and with no more words retreated upstairs

"Well, Bart I guess we better going too," Marge said rising from her seat, "It's 3:30 we have some things to do before dinner,"

"Well, thanks for stopping by Marge, it was a pleasure getting to know you and your son," Ruth said, as she too stood up "Also, that was really nice of you to come over here and welcome us to the neighborhood like this, no one has ever done that before."

"Oh, it was my pleasure, Ruth," Marge said with a smile, she and Bart then began walking towards the door. "I hope you and your daughter like Springfield,"

"Thanks, I am sure we will" Ruth smiled, "Maybe we could hang out together sometime,"

"You mean like a Girl's Night Out?" Marge asked eyes wide with interest, "Yeah," Ruth replied, nodding her head "I would like that," Marge replied.

"Do you have your phone on you? I'll give you my phone number?" Ruth asked,

"All right," Marge said, pulling out her cell phone. The two women then proceeded to exchange contact information, as Bart watched this, he mentally kicked himself for not doing the same thing. _"Why didn't think of that? I could have gotten her phone number! Bart you idiot!"_ He was brought back to reality when he heard his mother speak again, "Thanks Ruth," Marge said, opening the door,

"You're welcome," Ruth said, as mother and son then walked outside "We can talk later of when we want to hang out again. Also, I want to thank you for the treats, those were delicious I am sure Laura will like them too."She said, making Marge mile, "I am glad you enjoyed them," the blue-haired smiled before waving goodbye to her new friend "See you later!"

"Bye!" Ruth smiled and waved back before closing the door.

Marge and Bart then walked over back on their property and a few moments later had walked back through the front door. Marge walked into the kitchen to begin trying to figure out what to make for dinner, while Bart walked up into his room where he turned on his TV, Sony PlayStation 4 and put on one of his Assassin's Creed games.

A few years back, Homer had grown tired of his children monopolizing the television with their many programs and video games and so he bought them each their own television which was fine with him because he could play his game for as long as he wanted and not listen to Homer whine about not being able to watch TV.

However, because he was a minor he was not able to buy the more bloody games without his parents being with him and did not want to subject himself to that humiliation. So he stuck games like Assassin's Creed, Star Wars Battlefront, Uncharted games, and Tomb Raider games

An Hour Later

"KIDS DINNER!" Marge hollered, as soon as the words left her lips she heard the sounds of racing footsteps come above her and down the stairs, before her children suddenly appeared in the kitchen, sitting in their respective seats. On the table were four glasses of milk, a bowl of mashed potatoes with a side of gravy, and a bowl of green beans. "What are we having? I'm starved," Bart said as he watched Marge reach in the oven with oven mitts on, moments later she pulled out "We're having Meatloaf," She said, putting the Meatloaf on the table, making Bart, Lisa and Maggie groan a bit "Eat up kids, before the food gets cold," They did as they were told and began eating, Marge then began eating as well.

After dinner was over, and the dishes were done, Marge put the meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes and gravy in a meal prep container. She sealed it tight and afterward grabbed his already filled Thermos before then grabbing her car keys. The kids were now in the living room watching TV when Marge walked in "Kids, I am leaving now,"

"Where you are going?" Lisa asked,

"I am going to take your father some dinner," She said, "He hasn't had a home cooked meal in a while and as much as he loves sweets, after two weeks even he has to be getting tired of eating candy and energy drinks to stay awake." She explained

"I don't know, that man loves his sweets," Bart said, earning an elbow to the ribs from Lisa. "Ow! Quit it!" He said, glaring at her as he held his side "Don't be a jerk," Lisa said under her breath before turning her focus on their mother. "We understand Mom," She said with a smile

"Thank you, sweetheart," Marge said, "Also I have a few errands to run so I will be gone awhile, Bart I am putting you in charge of your sisters. If you need anything call or text me."

"Bye, Mommy, be careful." Maggie chimed in for the first time "I will, honey." Marge said, kissing her children goodbye before making her way to the front door, Tupperware in hand and thermos in her purse, she left the house, closing the door firmly behind her. She walked to the car, unlocked and opened it, carefully setting the Tupperware in the passenger seat, as well as her purse. She sat down, buckled up her seatbelt, started the car and soon began backing out of the driveway, watching carefully for oncoming vehicles before pulling out on the road.

* * *

As she drove down the road, she turned on the radio, listening to "Night Moves" by Bob Segar. She soon arrived at the Nuclear Power Plant and parked the car. She got out, grabbing her purse and the container and walked inside. She passed through the Power Plant workers working tirelessly to keep the plant running. surveillance cameras followed her every movement as she made her way to Sector 7G.

She soon arrived at the automatic doors with the words "SECTOR - 7G" printed on it and big bold letters. As she stepped forward the doors hissed open she looked at the surroundings and found an assortment of candy wrappers and energy drink cans on the floor. Her eyes drifted to her husband who was finishing yet another energy drink, crushing it against his forehead before tossing it to the ground, belching then thereafter.

"Homer..." The middle-aged man perked up at the sound of the familiar husky voice and turned to find Marge standing there with a smile on her face.

"Marge, what are you doing here?" He asked, truly surprised to see her "I brought you some dinner, I figured you were getting tired of candy and energy drinks. So I brought you some Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy." She said, handing him the container "Thanks, Marge but you know you didn't have to do that,"

"I also brought you this," She said, reaching in her purse for the thermos and pulled it out and handed it to him "What's this?" He asked, taking it in his hands. "I brought you a Thermos of soup, if the dinner wasn't enough to fill you up, this is something extra to eat." She explained, smiling at him "You're so good to me, Marge." Homer smiled up at his wife, "Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it, it gets so lonely here sometimes."

"I am sure it does," She responded sympathetically, "You have just two weeks left then you will be done with your mandatory overtime, right?"

"Yeah," He replied, "I just don't know how much more of this I can take, I am exhausted all the time, so I have resulted in drinking these energy drinks and eating candy bars all the time, most of the time out of boredom. All I want is to be done with this over time so I can be with you and the kids, I feel like I am missing out on so much."

"I know, honey but we understand this is part of your job, and besides it won't last forever, pretty soon you will back on your normal schedule and things will be back to how they usually are,"

Her words made him feel a bit better about the situation and said, "Thanks, Marge. So how are things at home I haven't talked to you much lately,"

"Everything is fine, Maggie is doing good in Kindergarten but Bart and Lisa have had issues adjusting to their new schools."

"Well, that's normal, after a few months they will get use to things," Homer said reassuringly, "We also got some new neighbors today, her name is Ruth Powers she is divorced and has a teenage daughter," Marge told him, "She and Bart seemed to hit it off pretty well,"

"Of course, he has the Simpsons charm," Homer said with a sly smile "No woman alive can resist it," He said, making Marge giggle.

As Homer ate his dinner, the couple talked about varies topics, catching up on what has all been happening lately with both. When he was done, he set aside the container and the thermos aside, and grabbed ahold of her hands "When I am finished with this over time, I am going to take you out to dinner, Marge, anywhere you want to go." Homer said,

"Oh, Homie..." Marge said, smiling at him "I love you so much,"

"I love you too," He said before kissing her, once they separated "I have to go," Marge said, "Let me have the container and thermos, I will take them home and wash them." She said, and he handed her to the container and thermos. "Thanks again, Marge," He said appreciatively,

"You're welcome," She smiled at him before touching his face, stroking it gently "Hang there, Homie, you'll get through this." She kissed him one last time before departing from the room, leaving him once more by himself to continue with his work. This time though seeing Marge, and the many energy drinks, gave him the motivation to work harder and get through this hellish night.

 _A/N: that is it for Chapter 5, I am sorry if it seems a bit short, but I promise the next chapter will be longer, I already have an outline for Chapter 6 and start writing it soon. Hope all have an awesome day! Later!_


	6. Chapter 6: Getting to Know Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own The Simpsons they are the property of Matt Groening, Sam Simon, James L. Brookes and 20th Century FOX

A/N: Hello everyone, I sincerely apologize that it took me so long to post this chapter. My computer died a few months ago and I lost all of my written works that I had written so I got a new one and this one has been giving me issues as well so it has taken me a while to finally get this chapter done and I apologize for the tardiness of this update. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. This chapter just focuses on the growing friendships of Marge and Ruth and Bart and Laura. Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to read and review!

Love at First Sight

Chapter 5: Getting to Know Each Other

Written By Super Saiyan God SSJ Juuhachi

The weekend went by quickly and Monday soon approached, the sounds of birds chirping filled the air as the sun peaked out over the horizon, bringing the promise of a new day.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Bart woke up with a start, hearing the sound of his blaring alarm ringing in his ears. He fumbled aimlessly to shut off the device and after a few moments finally succeeded. Through tired eyes, he looked at the time and saw it was 6:55 AM. Groaning softly, he threw the covers off of himself and made his way to the bathroom where he grabbed a towel and washcloth and proceeded to get a shower.

10 minutes later he emerged from the bathroom, wearing only a towel around his waist and headed back to his bedroom to get dressed for the school day ahead. A few moments later, he exited his room for the last time, dressed and ready to begin the day. He slid down the railing of the staircase and walked to the kitchen where he was met with the presence of his mother and sisters.

His mother, Marge was sitting drinking her morning coffee as his sisters Lisa and Maggie both sat eating bowls of cereal. "Good morning, Bart." His mother greeted warmly, upon noticing him standing there.

"Morning," He responded back, before walking over to the fridge, on top was a box of pop tarts. He pulled them down, opened up the package and pulled out the two POP Tarts inside.

"Did you sleep well, sweetie?" Marge then asked, trying her best to converse with her son. "Yeah, I slept all right."

"Well, hurry up and eat some breakfast. We have to get going soon or you will be late for school." She explained just as Lisa and Maggie finished their breakfast, dumping their dishes in the sink. Bart quickly ate his POP Tarts and he, his sisters and mother soon left the house.

* * *

After dropping of Maggie and Lisa at school, Marge was left alone in the car with her son. She looked over to him, he had his earbuds in, listening to blaring music, bobbing his head in tune with the music. The blue-haired woman thought about trying to talk with him but she found that difficult ever since he became a teenager.

When he was younger, she had tried to express an interest in hobbies and interests but there was always a barrier being the Mom. That didn't mean Homer was any more successful, though as Bart grew he went to his father more often than her, which was understandable. He was becoming a young man so it was only natural he would go to Homer for advice on things. However, that meant her "special little guy" was drifting slowly away from her and did not need her as much anymore, other than to do his laundry. She wanted to be more involved in his life, but she didn't know how to do that.

They soon arrived at Springfield High School, pulling up to the front of the school. "See you later, Mom," Bart said, as he got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Marge sat there, watching her son's retreating back, "See ya," She said softly before then driving away.

When Bart got inside, he removed his earbuds and was met by the familiar faces of Milhouse, Lewis, and Richard "Hey, man, how was your weekend?" Milhouse asked, "Actually, pretty good," Bart said with a smile, "You remember I told you that the old couple that lived next door to my family was moving away?" Milhouse nodded his head in response "Well, a single mother and her daughter moved in next door to me,"

"Is she hot?" Richard asked "Yes, she's hot," he replied with a smile on his face "when I first saw her face...my jaw dropped, my heart pounded in my chest, I found myself nervous and unsure of what to say around her."

"Sounds like love at first sight to me," Lewis commented, "What are you talking about?" Bart asked, giving his friend a narrowed look "You know, love at first sight," Milhouse said, making the spiky-haired teen look at him "When you feel an instant attraction to someone, they say it is meant to be."

"Where did you hear that?" asked Bart, not believing him, "My father told me that, he said, that's how he felt when he met my Mom." He explained "Really?" Bart asked, "Yeah, come to think of it, my Dad told me how it was love at first sight for him when he saw my Mom for the first time."

"Sounds like you are smitten with this girl."

"You guys are crazy," Bart walked away from his friends, "Sure she is attractive, but just because I got some heart flutters and became nervous around her, doesn't mean I'm in love with her."

"Whatever you say, Bart," Richard said amused at his friend's denial

Frustrated, Bart walked away from his friends and began heading to his first-period class. As he did he grumbled to himself "Love at first sight, what a ridiculous concept, not to mention impossible!" Suddenly he heard a voice speak "Excuse me can you help me find Homeroom 237?" He looked up and saw the familiar face of Laura Powers sanding a few feet away from him. She was trying to get a fellow student but they ignored her and kept walking. Laura had in her hands a piece of paper, he assumed it was her class schedule but wasn't having success in getting anyone to help her so he decided to step in.

"Hey, Laura," He greeted her, smiling "What is going on?"

"Hey, Bart," She replied, "I am trying to get to my Homeroom, room 237 and no one will help me,"

"I can help you, "Bart replied, making her eyes light up slightly "Really? You know where it is?"

"Yeah, I do," The spiky-haired teen replied, "Follow me." He began walking and she followed in close tow behind him. "I really appreciate this," She said with a smile "It's no problem, I was the new kid here a couple of weeks ago." He told her when they soon arrived at room 237.

"Here you go," Bart smiled

"Thanks again Bart for helping me,"

"You're welcome," He said and watched as she walked into the classroom and watched as she took her seat near the window. Bart then walked inside and took a seat where he usually sat when Laura turned "What the-?" She asked, her eyes wide with surprise as she saw Bart sitting not too far from her with a big grin on his face.

"Hello again," He teased

"This is your homeroom too?"

"That's right," He replied, "Is that a problem?"

"No," She told him shaking her head, "I'm just surprised, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Why is that?" Bart asked, "I told you I knew where it was, I never said it wasn't my homeroom."

"Fair enough," She said "I guess I just figured because you said you were the new student here a couple of weeks ago, that you knew the layout of the school or something." Laura explained, "let that be a lesson, never assume anything." She said more to herself than to him, before turning her focus to him again.

"True," Bart said, nodding his head before looking over at her, "Listen, we got some time before class, do you mind if I ask you for your phone number? I forgot to ask for it the other day..." He then asked embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head, Laura just blinked at him unsure of what to say

* * *

At 742 Evergreen Terrace Marge was finishing up on the dishes when she heard the doorbell ring. "I wonder who that could be?" The blue-haired woman asked as she dried her hands and walked over to the front door. She opened the door and found her new neighbor Ruth Powers standing in front of her. "Good morning Ruth," Marge greeted her friend warmly "Hey Marge," Ruth began, "Are you busy?"

"Well, I was doing some cleaning," Marge began "Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to interrupt I can come back later." Ruth said apologetically and turned to leave when Marge said, "No, it's fine, I need to take a break anyway. I can talk," Ruth stopped and looked at her for a moment "Are you sure? I don't want to bother you..."

"Yeah, you're fine," The mother of three reassured her, "Come on in," Ruth entered the house hesitantly, looking around at her surroundings as she did.

"You have a beautiful home," She said, "Thank you," Marge replied with a smile, "Can I get you something to drink? Would you like some coffee?"

" Coffee would be great," Ruth said graciously, the two women journeyed their way into the kitchen."Have a seat," Marge told the brunette, the other woman did as she told and sat down at the table as Marge moved over to the counter where pulled down two coffee cups from the cabinet and began pouring some coffee

"Would you like cream or sugar in your coffee?"

"Sugar please," Ruth responded

Marge then brought the two cups of coffee over to the table and handed on to Ruth, "Thank you," The other woman said before taking a sip of the hot beverage. The mother of three then sat down across from her and said "So you are looking for a job," She began "Is there any job particular you are looking for?"

"Not really," She said

"Well, the only jobs I can suggest is the Kwik-E-Mart, though I do warn you it gets robbed pretty frequently so there is a stong possibility you will get shot while on the job." Ruth cringed a bit at hearing this, "Is there any other jobs you can recommend?"

"Hmm, let me see..." Marge thought for a moment "Well, there is the Nuclear Power Plant..." She said, "Does it pay decent?"

"Yes, Homer has worked there for 14 years and it helped us getting this house, pay the bills and providing our kids with what they need."

"Ok, I will apply later online, thanks again, Marge."

"You're welcome, Ruth."

* * *

Bart exited the lunch line, he had on his tray a cheeseburger, french fries, ketchup, and milk. He scanned the cafeteria where he saw his friends sitting off chatting with each other. Still annoyed with them, he decided to not sit with them today and try to find another place to sit. He scanned the room where he found a familiar brunette sitting off by herself. He smiled and began walking over to her she did not look up as he approached as she was reading a book

"Can I sit here?" Asked Bart

Laura looked up from the book she had been reading. It appears the book she was reading some form of a comic book. "Sure, go ahead." She gestured at the empty seat beside her. He sat down and looked over at the book she had in her hand "Is that a comic book you are reading?" He asked curiously "No, its a graphic novel." She said, her eyes never leaving the book. "What's it called?" The spiky-haired teen asked, she then looked over at him "Its called Tokyo Ghoul." She responded

"What is it about?"

"It's about a boy named Ken Kaneki, he's a college student and barely survives a deadly encounter with a girl named Rize who is revealed to be a ghoul. He is left in critical condition and is taken to the hospital, afterward he discovered the doctors performed surgery on him that transformed him into a half-ghoul."

"Sounds like my kinda book," Bart said with a smile on his face

"Really?" Laura asked surprised

"Yeah, I love all that stuff ghouls and zombies..." He told her as he took a bite of his burger. "Well, what do we have here?" A voice said from behind "Hey baby, whatcha reading?" Before Bart and Laura knew what was happening, her book was snatched out of her hands. "Hey give that back!" Laura shouted as she turned to see who it was that took her book from her and was met with a tall dark-haired boy. "Jason..." Bart sneered as he saw him and his brothers standing there with smug looks on their faces. Jason opened the book and began flipping through it, as he did the smile left his face and was replaced but a look of confusion "What the hell is this shit?"

"It's called Japanese manga," Laura responded, "Now now give me my book back!" She reached for the book but he kept it out of her reach "You want it? Try and take it!" He said and tossed it to Dylan, who then tossed it, Kyle, laughing as Laura tried to grab the book but to no avail. "Knock it off, Jason!" Bart said, but the boys did not stop "I said KNOCK IT OFF!" He yelled, grabbing their attention. Everyone in the lunchroom turned their heads to see what the commotion was about. "What did you say, Simpson?" Jason asked as she stepped closer to the blonde spiky-haired teen "You heard me," Bart said, "I said knock it off," The black-haired boy got within inches from Bart's face and said "And who is gonna make us? You?" He asked before laughing and pushed Bart, making him stumble back a bit.

"Come on Bart, let's see what you're made of!" He told him, shoving him harder this time making Bart once again stumble back. Getting his footing, Bart put his fists up close to face, making Jason and his brothers laugh at him once more. As they did, Bart seethed and he drew his fist back and punched him square in the nose, making Jason grab his nose "Oh shit..." Bart cursed under his breath, not expecting the punch to connect.

The other students watched, their phones out already recording the whole scene, they looked on intrigued by how this would turn out

Jason touched his nose to see if he was bleeding and discovered blood on his fingertips. He looked at Bart glared hatefully at him and tackled him to the ground and the two began wrestling and punching each other. Kyle and Dylan grabbed Bart and pulled him off their brother. Jason got up and said, "Hold him!" He snarled and walked over to him and punched him, alternating between punching him in the face and the stomach.

Just then a teacher saw the assault and rushed over to stop it, "Hey get away from him!" Kyle and Dylan released Bart, his body hit the ground hard. The three boys then ran out of the cafeteria ignoring the shouting from the teacher. "Hey get back here!" After they were gone, the teacher turned to see an injured Bart laying on the ground. Laura walked over to Bart with a worried look on her face. "Bart? Bart are you all right?" She asked, kneeling beside him but got no response, "Bart?" Still no answer. "Help me get him to the nurse's station." She said, the teacher then picked him up and he and Laura walked out of the cafeteria to get him the help he needs.

A/N: All right that is it for this chapter. Hope you all enjoyed. I will be working on the next chapter very soon. Take care!


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